Glass _JQ^4 A * ^~ 

Book «(x73 

ft I* 



IN THE 



INDIAN OCEAN AND TO BENGAL, 

Undertaken in the Year 1790. f 'S% 

CONTAINING 

An Account of the Sechelies-Islands and Trineomale . 

9 - 

The Character and Arts of the People of India ; 

WITH SOME REMARKABLE RELIGIOUS RITES OF 

THE INHABITANTS OF BENGAL. 

TO WHICH IS ADDED, 

A VOYAGE IN THE RED SEA; 

INCLUDING 

A DESCRIPTION OF MOCHA, 

AND OF 1 HE 

TRADE OF THE ARABS OF YEMEN, 
With some particulars of their Manners, Customs, &c« 

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF 

L. DE &RANDPRE, 

AN OFFICER IN THE FRENCH ARMY. 



PtBLISHEL^BY WILLIAM FESSENDEN : 



BRA T T LEB 0R0U Gff, FT. 
ftlLLU 

1814. 

/ . sr.. 




v 



VOYAGE 

IN THE 

INDIAN OCEAN, &c. 



I WAS at the Isle of France in the year 1790, 
with a vessel too large and too sharp for the coun- 
try. Not being able to dispose of her, I resolv- 
ed on a trip to Bengal, where I hoped to find a good 
price and a ready market, though her construction 
was ill adapted to the navigation of the Ganges. 
But appearances being in her favor, this defect I 
trusted would be overlooked, and I was not mis- 
taken. 

I accordingly prepared for my departure, and was 
soon ready for sea. Several motives, and economy 
among the re&i, determined me to discharge all my 
Europeans, and work the ship with black Indians, 
known by the name of Lascars ; but, finding it im- 
possible to procure them. I was under the necessity 
of putting up with thirty Manillese, whose pusillanim- 
ity and want of ski!! rendered the passage extreme- 
ly difficult. 

The first vexation I experienced was their caus- 
ing me to miss the harbor of the Isle of Bourbon, 
where I intended to have taken in fresh provisions. 
I was therefore obliged to steer for the Seeheiles- 
Islands, and I considered it as an instance of good 
fortune that I arrived there in safety, after travers- 
ing a dangerous archipelago, in which navagation is 



4 VOYAGE IN THE 

sebjuet to a number of manoeuvres, that require an 
experienced crew. 

After four days of anxiety and labor, I arrived 
upon the Sechelles'. hank. Those who are desirous 
of having a correct idea of this cluster of islands and 
rocks, may be fully gratified by the chart of the 
chevalier Grenier. My approach to the bank was 
announced by the lead, and the Isle mix Fregates 
being in sight confirmed my situation. At six 
o'clock in the evening I made that small island, and 
directed my course for Mahe, the capital of these es- 
tablishments, which the distance yet prevented me 
from perceiving. I was then in thirty fathoms wa- 
ter. 

The night was extremely tempestuous, and the 
next day, about eight in the morning, I discovered 
Mahe, where I came to anchor at three in the after- 
noon. The governor was an officer of engineers de- 
tached from the Isle of France, and I received from 
him all Ihe attention and assistance I could desire. 

The Sechelles form a small and distinct archipe^» 
lago in the midst of the large one to the north of the 
Isle of France. They are elevated above a bank of 
sand, which entirely surrounds them. Their name 
is a compliment paid to M. de Sechelles ; and the 
principal port derives its appellation in like manner 
from M. Mahe de la Bourdonnaie, the governor, to 
whom the colony of the Isle of France is indebted 
for its beginning splendor. 

It is singular, that islands should have soundings* 
as these have, at a great distance from shore ; and 
it is a circumstance at the same time extremely ad- 
vantageous to mariners, who, when in search of 
them, can neither well miss them, nor come upon 
Ihem unexpectedly, so as to endanger their vessel. 

Among- this group of islands some are nothing 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



5 



more than barren rocks ; but four of them, Mahe, 
Si. Anne, Praslin, and Fregafes, contain water, and 
are capable of cultivation. Mahe is the principal 
and largest, and is about five leagues in circumfer- 
ence. It is of a secondary height, that is to say, up- 
ward* of a thousand feet, as I guessed at least, for I 
had no time to make exact observations. The 
whole island is a continued mountain, having sev- 
eral peaks without any considerable vallies between 
them. It is primitive or granitic, and the bare sides 
of the peaks, rising perpendicularly, discover in ma- 
ny places, granite in its purity. 

This mountain, as well as those the tops of 
which compose the other islands, have undoubtedly 
served as a resting-place, against which the ocean, 
gradually depositing its sediments, has formed the 
bank that surrounds them ; and they will therefore, 
in a course of time, be united, in all probability, ia- 
to one island. 

Let us for a moment attend here to the physical 
changes of the globe, and the gradual organization 
of banks and masses from materials which the sea 
heaps together in her bosom. The form of the Sech- 
elles' bank appears to furnish matter for reflection 
on the subject. If we remark, that the currents in 
the track of the general winds always follow the im- 
pulse of those winds, that is, here, always run to the 
north-west, we shall easily conceive, that these peaks 
of granite, uniting together at the base at a certain 
depth, have collected, for a long succession of ages 9 
all the loose matter and extraneous bodies which 
the waves and tides have thrown in their way : 
driven against the south west points of these peaks, 
these materials have been stopped there, and have 
formed the bank above which the SecheHes -Island? 
rise. 

A 2 



6 



TGYAGE IN THE 



To this it will perhaps he objected, that some inl- 
ands have their anchorage to leeward, as, for instance* 
the Isles of France and Bourbon, and those of St. 
Helena and Ascension, where no soundings are 
found to windward, and which have all a small bank 
on the side opposite to the current. The answer is 
plain: these islands are volcanic. The Isle of France 
bears such evident vestiges of an eruption, that lava 
is found at every step. That of Bourbon is burning 
at present ; the peak of Salazes is a volcano ; and 
St. Helena still exhibits the traces of flames on her 
mountains. As to Ascension, its conflagrations is so 
recent that its soil is nothing but ashes ; it has not 
yet had time to recover its springs, and accordingly 
a drop of water is not to be found through the whole 
island. 

Whether these islands are the wreck of a mutilat- 
ed continent, or have been thrown up by a subma- 
rine explosion, which I should rather admit, their 
formation has been accompanied by accidents that 
have given cause for the accumulation of the banks 
in question, which have no relation whatever to those 
gradually organized by the sea. These islands are 
too new for the ocean tcr have had time to throw 
up against them the materials, which form shelves 
and masses accumulated in the silence of ages. 

The bank which surrounds the Sechelles extends 
a considerable distance to leeward ; but nothing can 
thence be concluded against what I have advanced. 
For this fact to subvert my theory, it would be nec- 
essary that the isle of Mahe should be alone ; whereas 
it is comprised in an archipelago situated in the midst 
of two others still more extensive, and at no great dis- 
tance apart. It is evident that at various depths, nev- 
er very considerable, these islands are all joined to- 
gether at the base, from the jaorthern extremity of the 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



7 



Laccadives even to the Isles of France and Bourbon. 
The mountains of this continent foim the islands 
that are perceptible and known to us ; and many 
others must exist, that, from their want of elevation, 
are condemned to remain submerged. The isle of 
Mahe is surrounded by tops of this kind, which, un- 
able to rise above the waves, have only intercepted 
the materials dragged on by the ocean in its course : 
they are now covered, and form the bank, the figure 
of which answers to their situation. It is probable, 
that the leeward part of the Sechelles' bank will not 
be left dry till long after that to windward : because 
the currents, having now no obstacle opposed to 
them, carry off with them into the immensity of the 
deep the extraneous bodies which escape from the 
islands of thia archipelago ; while, on the contrary, 
the isle of Mahe and the rest, opposing a barrier to 
the tides, force them to deposit the sedimeuts they 
contain on the point of resistance. This hypothesis 
is proved almost to evidence : for the bank of the 
Sechelles is elevated considerably to windward, so 
that we find only a very small depth of water in the 
direct line of the tides, that is to say, to the south- 
east, and this depth must necessarily diminish daily. 
In short, if any thing can give weight to my conjec- 
ture, it is, that the harbor of the Sechelles very 
sensibly becomes shallower, as does that also of the 
Isle of France : which demonstrates, not only that 
the ocean collects in those places the extraneous 
bodies by which they are organized, but also, that 
its easy and gradual retreat takes place in these cli- 
mates in the same uniform manner as our philoso- 
phers have remarked in other p^rts of the globe. 

As to the form of mountains, I shal< observe, that, 
in general, when we meet with any of which the 
sides are perpendicular, we need not hesitate in pro- 



s 



VOYAGE IN THE 



nouncing them to be either primitive or volcanic ; 
for that shape denotes either an explosion or a 
strong commotion. The secondary mountains, on 
the contrary, formed gradually by the ocean of ma- 
terials incessantly collected by it, are oblique, unless 
they have been heaped on a steep nxk ; in which 
case, or if they have served, after their formation, 
as a bed for a current, they may have been hollow- 
ed by the water, or cut perpendicularly : but such 
examples are rare. 

Since the period when the mountains of these isl- 
ands were projected, in one of the great revolutions 
of the globe, nature has had time to gather upon 
them so great a quantity of vegetable substance, that, 
except in places where their form would not admit 
of it, thay are every where covered by a bed of 
very thick earth ; and, as they have only been 
frequented since the present century, they produce 
an extremely vigorous vegetation. The isje of 
Mahe has but a single cluster of trees proper for 
ship-buiiding, and of these a great many have been 
destroyed in the erection of houses ; but the gov- 
ernment of the Mauritius has taken this object into 
consideration, and issued decrees for its preservation, 
particularly the tatamaka wood, which affords the 
fine curved pieces used in the construction of 
ships. 

The isle of Mahe supports three small islands 
nearly adjoining. The space comprised between the 
former and one of the latter, called St. Anne, forms 
a fine bay, serving as a harbor, which affords an 
excellent anchorage. These islands are surrounded 
by an immense quantity of coral ; probably the ori- 
ginal matter of which the fragments heaped together 
by the ocean gradually form the banks and islands 
which the sea organizes. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



9 



The Coral here forms shelves of great extent ; 
they rise to the very surface of the sea ; but at the 
bottom of the bay, opposite Mahe nature has made 
a narrow channel, proceeding in a serpentine direc- 
tion to the shore, and admitting a great depth of 
water. This place is commonly called Barachouas, 
and, in case of necessity, might be made an harbor. 
The passage is very well adapted for that purpose, 
having perpendicular banks of coral on each side, 
which form a quay even with the water's edge ; so 
that the channel is never exposed to the roughness 
of the sea. 

Vessels wishing to enter there carry a grapnel to 
the coral banks, and thus moor without the trouble 
of dropping the anchor. 

The possession of these islands is of the greatest 
importance to France ; and she took care therefore 
to secure them, as soon as the colony of the Mauri- 
tius had acquired a degree of prosperity. The port 
and road of the Seebefles are at so small a distance 
from it, as to be able to annoy its trade, and cut off 
its communication with India : so that, supposing 
they were of no other use, it must ever be of impor- 
tance to the French government to prevent their 
falling into the Hands of its enemies ; but they are 
valuable on other accounts. 

When the French succeeded in pilfering spices 
from the Dutch, the plants were conveyed to the 
Isle of France, and carefully cultivated in the kind's 
garden : a few prosperous years, with skilful and 
expensive management, gave reason to hope they 
might be naturalized there, and government had 
even begun to distribute the young plants among 
the inhabitants, and teach them how they were to 
be reared ; but the hurricanes soon put an end to 
so flattering a prospect : the settler grew weary of 



10 



VOYAGE IN THE 



the expense and extreme care necessary to tbe sup- 
port of an object of which the profit, while it was 
uncertain, was also at least far distant ; and the re- 
sults even in the kings garden, were by no means . 
so satisfactory as was expected. The cinnamon 
produced only a light bark, triflingly unctuous, and 
very inferior in quality to that of the Moluccas. 
The clove trees dwindled ; and though the plant 
itself appeared healthy, its fruit did not answer the 
expectation of government. In a word, this busi- 
ness was nothing more, properly speaking, than an 
object of curiosity : Sike those orange trees in 
Russia, or in the north of Germany, which produce 
fruit by dint of -attention, but the fruit is degenerate, 
lias no taste, no flavor, and scarcely ever any 
smell. 

The Sechelles, being in a latitude simitar- to the 
Moluccas, and presenting some probability in favor 
of this species of cultivation, now attracted the at- 
tention of administration. Plants were conveyed 
thither with the utmost secrecy ; and as the negro- 
ships generally pot in at (he Isle of Mahe, to procure 
wafer and turtle, care was taken to choose a place on 
the other side of the island, to prevent its being 
known, and they were deposited near the royal 
creek, and abandoned to nature. 

Their success surpassed every hope ; the cinna- 
mon-trees, particularly, spread with such rapidity, 
that the canton wherever the lofty trees would per- 
mit them to grow, was shortly covered with them. 
The cloves and nutmegs succeeded also, but did 
not increase in the same proportion. 

Things were in this state when war was declar- 
ed, in 1778, between France and England. Vis- 
count de Souillac, governor of the Isles of France 
and Bourbon, with their dependencies, animated by 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



11 



a pure and well directed patriotism, took every pre- 
caution to prevent the enemies of the state from 
seizing on the precious result of so much labor, 
patience, and expense ; but the person charged with 
the execution of his orders was deficient in the 
judgment necessary for the execution of so impor- 
tant a commission. Government had generally 
maintained a military post on this island ; but from 
the fear of being surprised, it was discontinued at 
the commencement of the war, and an overseer only 
left there with a few blacks, whose orders were, to 
take the most effectual means of destroying the 
cinnamon-trees the moment the enemy should at- 
tempt to take possession of the island. Unfortu- 
nately, a large French ship from Madagascar put in 
to water at Mahe ; and the overseer, mistaking her 
for an enemy, believing he should be attacked, and 
fearful of not having time to execute his instructions^ 
immediately set fire to the spice trees, and destroy- 
ed them all. 

Thus perished the hopes of the French govern- 
ment. The birds, however, which in general are 
fond of the fruit of the cinnamon-tree, had carried 
off a great number of berries, of which some had 
dropped accidentally in the woods of the interior 
of the islands, where they produced new plants, 
which were found there at the peace of 1783. Of 
these great care was taken ; and when I visited the 
island, the cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg-trees were 
in good condition, though not very numerous. — 
There is no doubt but every kind of spice might be 
cultivated in the Sechelles-Islands ; and France^ 
notwithstanding their little extent, derive from them 
a sufficient quantity for the consumption of the re- 
public. No climate can be more favorable ; and the 
instances I have cited incontestibly prove, that the 



12 



VOYAGE IN THE 



success would be complete. But, since the trials 
which have been made at Cayenne, it would appear 
that government has lost sight of the project of nat- 
uralizing them on these islands. 

In 1790 grants of land were offered to any in- 
habitant of the Isle of France who wished to settle 
at Mahe, and soon the whole island was disposed of ; 
but no person at that time had fixed his risidence 
either on the isle of Praslin or that of Fregates : 
and as to St. Anne's, government had united it to 
the royal domains, to leave it for the use of ships 
resorting to the port, who had liberty to land their 
crews for the benefit of their health, without the 
least apprehension as to the other islands, with 
which, in case of contagion, all communication is 
cut off. 

These settlers finding it difficult to live, much 
more to enjoy themselves, have neglected the spice- 
trees, and even destroyed them, that they might de- 
vote themselves to the cultivation of rice, maize, 
manioc, cocoa-trees, and to fishing for turtle. This 
last article presented so alluring a bait to their in- 
dustry, by the profit it afforded, that they pursued 
it with an avidity which threatened in a short sime 
the destruction of the species. Government there- 
fore interfered, and the fishing is now subject to 
restrictions. As these islands had been long unin- 
habited, the turtle came there in abundance to lay 
their eggs ; but now, disturbed by the inhabitants, 
they manifestly become every day more scarce. 
Government preserves the females in an inclosure 
on the beach, where any one may be supplied for 
his own consumption, but not for trade. This is an 
excellent resource to vessels whose crews are attack- 
ed by the scurvy. The males that are taken are 
always set at liberty* 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



13 



These islands produce also a kind of cocoa pecu- 
liar to themselves, called sea or twin cocoa ; which 
is in request through all Asia, on account of itsi 
scarceness. 

The soil of the Sechelles is new, and consequent- 
ly extremely fertile : indigo is indigenous there ; 
all the plants prosper ; horned cattle languish ; but 
goats and pigs thrive ; and poultry do well and be- 
come fat in a short time. The rice has attracted 
the attention of cultivators, by its superiority over 
any other in the world. Yet, notwithstanding all 
this, the colony, in its present state, is of no value ; 
ar«d, though it holds out great advantages, is reduc- 
ed to a mere provision- warehouse for the small num- 
ber of vessels that visit it : nor can it be considered 
in any other light till a wise administration shall 
think proper to restore it to its first distinction. 

I made some remarks on turtle at these islands, 
which may perhaps give birth to conjectures on a 
fact that has not yet fixed the attention of natural- 
ists. 

Does the land-turtle or tortoise, ever swim or 
undertake long passages by sea ? To throw light 
upon this question, it may be useful perhaps to ob- 
serve, that the Sechelies-Islands abound in this spe- 
cies of tortoise. How did they come there ? More- 
over, tortoises taken at the isle of Praslip, deposited 
in the inclosure of that place, and marked on the 
back with a circle made by a cooper's screeving iron, 
have been re-taken three leagues off on another 
island called V Isle aux Cerfs, near the barachouas 
of Mahe. Others, put into the inclosure of the Isle 
aux Cerfs, and marked in a particular manner, have 
been re-taken at Mahe, from which it is separated 
by the bay and harbor, making at least the distance 
of a league. This fact may be relied on : I mention 
B 



14 



TOY AGE IN THE 



it because I never heard that these tortoises under- 
took such long excursions by sea. The observation 
appears to me to be new, and I am anxious to com- 
municate it to naturalists. 

During my stay at the Sechelles I had nearly lost 
my boat and those of my crew who were in it.— 
They suffered themselves to be driven on the coast 
by a light breeze, which their pusillanimity rendered 
them enable to counteract. I feared they were 
carried out to sea, where they would inevitably 
have perished ; but, fortunately, they were brought 
back the next day. They had run aground near 
the plantation of an inhabitant who cultivated cocoa, 
which they pillaged without mercy, carrying off 
three thousand nuts with which they laded the boat. 
The planter, whom I begged to set a value upon his 
loss, was satisfied with thirty Spanish dollars, which 
I paid without hesitation. 

Every thing being ready for my departure, I 
weighed anchor and stood to the north, keeping that 
course till I came within nine degrees north latitude, 
in order to pass between the Laccadives and the 
Maldives. The day on which I reached the pas- 
sage was marked by the loss of a sailor, a ManiHese, 
who fell into the sea while he was employed in 
bending a new fore-sail. The poor fellow swam 
like a fish, and at first divirted himself by calling 
to each of the crew by name, inviting them to jump 
in and bathe with him. It was then about four 
o'clock in the afternoon, the wind began to freshen 
and the ship was going at the rate of little more 
than three miles an hour. The officer who had 
the watch put about in an instant ; a hen-coop, 
some buoys and other things, were thrown over- 
board to assist him, but he jestingly disdained them, 
hoping by dint of skill to come up with the vessel. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



15 



At last a cask was hove out, with a lead-line fasten- 
ed to it of two hundred fathoms, to which I added 
upwards of four hundred fathoms of rope of different 
size3, but all to no purpose : he could not get hold 
of it, the wind and current driving the vessel faster 
than he could swim. As soon as he perceived the 
affair to be growing serious, he was seen to exert all 
his force, and ever y now and then to lift up his arms 
to show himself. 

Wishing to neglect no means of saving him, I had 
given orders for the boat to be hoisted out : but, as 
it was extremely heavy, we found it impossible to 
do it soon enough. The Blacks of Manilla, instead 
of lending a hand, remained upon the gangways 
gazing at their shipmate, and calling to him in their 
language, which I did not understand ; and neither 
blows nor exhortations could induce them to remain 
at the capstan, to put about the ship. 

A heavy sea striking us upon the beam made the 
Vessel roll so excessively, that all our efforts were 
scarcely sufficient to secure the boat and prevent 
accident* ; at length, about seven in the evening, 
when we were on the point of attaining our object, 
it bacame dark. We had now lost sight of the un- 
fortunate swimmer for more than an hour and a 
half ; and with such miserable sailors I gave up the 
hope of recovering him, persuaded that if I were 
to lower my boat in the night in so heavy a sea 
to put to windward, I should endanger the whole 
of its crew, particularly at a season when we were 
every moment exposed to a hurricane. Besides, 
the experience I had had of the inactivity of the 
Biacks, in what they had done off the Isle of Bour- 
bon and at the Sechelles, convinced me, that their 
efforts would be of no avail ; I therefore contin- 
ued my course, leaving the unhappy wretch, who 



16 



VOYAGE IN THE 



I had no doubt was by this time drowned, to his 
fate. 

The tides during the south-west monsoon are so 
violent between the Maids ve- Islands and the Lac- 
cadi ves, that we are subject to lose our reckoning, 
especialfy if we are not able to make observations of 
longitude. To prevent gross eirors, and that a ves- 
sel may riot fall in unexpectedly with the land, which 
might be dangerous in the night, there is one re- 
mark to be made, which is rather of a singular na- 
ture. 

After passing the meridian of the Maldives, and 
when we are between them and the coast of Mala- 
bar, there is seen on the surface of the water a great 
number of living serpents, floating without move- 
ment, their bodies rolled up, the head erect, and the 
look stedfast They begin to appear as soon as we 
get within the Maldives ; but they are not very nu- 
merous till we arrive at about eight or ten leagues 
from the coast, and their numbers increase as we 
approach* It is supposed, that they are forced 
down the rivers of the coast of Malabar, which are 
swelled by the abundant rains that prevail at that 
season, and which carry off with them whatever 
they meet in their passage. These floods are some- 
times so considerable, that the sea is tinged by them 
six or seven leagues from the shore. 

Two days after losing the Manillese I have men- 
tioned, I discovered land about six in the evening. 
The weather was thick and cloudy, with rain 
and light airs at intervals. I found myself too near 
the coast and hauled my wind to stand off. I was 
borne by the currents with astonishing rapidity ; in 
the evening the rain increased, and the wind fell 
quite calm. As, however, there was a very heavy 
swells the ship rolled considerably > and the wet sails 3 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



17 



by beating against the masts, were soon rent to pie" 
ces. It became necessary to unbend tbe topsails* 
and thus for a while to remain under bare poles, ex- 
poseo* to whatever Heaven might please to ordain* 
While fresh sails were bending, I ordered the lead 
to be hove constantly ; and I saw with pleasure, 
that the tide carried me on the course I wished to 
go as accurately as if I had been able to manage the 
ship. 

About eleven o'clock the swell became less, and 
in the course of a few minutes was completely gone : 
then the sea seemed on a sudden to be on fire. This 
phenomenon has been observed by several naviga* 
tors, who have described it. I find it impossible to 
give an idea of its appearance : the light does not 
resemble that produced by the track of a vessel and 
fish in phosphoric seas ; it is absolutely fire, or at 
least appears to be so, and it extends to the utmost 
limits of the horizon^ so that the ship seems to swim 
on a burning ocean. The sea was gently agitated, 
and each undulation foamed like the waves of a riv- 
er when the wind sets against the stream. It was 
this foam that sparkled, each small surge resembling 
a body of fire. 

The crew was very much terrified, and even the 
officers were alarmed. I explained the wonder, and 
told them, that it was by no means novel. I repeat- 
ed what Captain Cook had said on the subject, and 
observed to them, that this phenomenon was partic- 
ularly mentioned by navigators as common near the 
Maldives. Wishing to prove to them still more 
satisfactorily that their fears were absurd, and that 
they had not the least danger to apprehend, the fire 
which they saw being nothing more, according to 
report, than a small phosphoric animal, I ordered a 
bucket of water to be drawn up and preserved till 
B2 



VOYAGE IN tfHE 



the next day, intending to examine it with them at- 
tentively. The sea appeared thus enflamed for the 
space of half an hour, when it wholly disappeared. 
The next day I inquired for the bucket of water, 
but it was not to be found ; curiosity had fled with 
the fear of danger, and they preferred relying on ray 
explanation, to giving themselves the trouble of ex- 
amining what could have caused the phenomenon. 
To my great regret I thus lost an opportunity of 
making remarks on an object, which has justly ex- 
cited the curiosity of the learned, and on which 
nothing satisfactory has yet been advanced. All 
that I was able to observe was, that as soon as the 
water was in the bucket it lost its brilliancy, and 
differed in no respect from its ordinary appear- 
ance. 

I continued my course, standing for the southern 
point of Ceylon ; and, coasting round that island, ar- 
rived at Pondicherry nineteen days after my depar- 
ture from the isle of France. I had the misfortune, 
in mooring ship, to cast my anchor on the wreck of 
a vessel, which had been so long under water, that 
no one was acquainted with the circumstance. The 
result was, that I lost it ; and in endeavoring to get 
it up, 1 broke an entirely new fifteen-inch cable, 
M. de Rozili, commander of the frigates La Meduse 
and La Station, gave me another to supply its 
place : he attempted also to recover mine ; but by 
the effort he made he broke his tackle, and increas- 
ed a leak in the fore part of his ship, that admitted 
two inches of water in an hour. 

At the time of my landing at Pondicherry, that 
place, formerly the bulwark of the French in India, 
had been just evacuated by Mr. Conway ; for which 
he was very much reproached. I am inclined to 
believe ; that he did not merit it ; but it is the fate 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



19 



which every foreigner, who has the chief command 
in a naiion in a state of rivality with that in which 
he was born, ought to expect. Mr. Conway was an 
Irishman ; the evacuation of Pondicherry left the 
English masters of India without opposition : it is 
therefore not surprising that suspicion should have 
fallen upon him. 

The garrison consisted only of two hundred Eu- 
ropean infantry, a company of artillery, part of 
which were Caffres, and a battalion of black Spahis 
or Cipahis. The park of artillery was evacuated, 
and all the ammunition sent to the Isle of France. 
It may be proper here to take a rapid glance at the 
policy of the French in India. 

The power of the French company in Asia was 
once equal to that of the English company. Mad- 
ras submitted to its arms under the command of La 
Bourdonnaie ; and the genius of governor Dupleix 
frustrated all the attempts of its enemies on Pondi- 
cherry : but from that time the power of France in 
India has continued to decline. 

That able governor was well aware, that for any 
foreign nation to pretend to maintain itself in India 
as a military power, without being ably supported 
in the interior, either by allies, or by a sovereignty 
over countries sufficiently extensive to raise respec- 
table forces, was a vain chimera. He had already 
been elevated to the dignity of a nabob ; and if his 
recal to Europe had not arrested the course of his 
proceedings, it is impossible to calculate the conse- 
quences that might have resulted, favorable to his 
own country, and injurious to its enemies. After 
his departure, the vast plans he had formed were 
given up, and every thing was concentred at the Isle 
of France, where a place of arms was erected, and 
whence it was imagined^ that ; in case of necessity, 



20 



VOYAGE IN THE 



the requisite forces and supplies might he sent to 
India, to maintain a footing of equality* 

This system was defective, as the event proved. 
Pondicbern was often taken ; and the succours 
sent from the Isle of France were always either in- 
sufficient, or else arrived too late. But in Europe 
the blame was constantly thrown on those charged 
with the operations, without its bei^g felt, tL at, w hen 
acting upon ill concerted plans, the results of course 
must -he ever unpropltious. 

in the war of 1778 the Mauritius again failed in 
endeavoring to save Pondicberry : notwithstanding 
the vigorous defence of M. de Bellecombe, it was 
obliged' to capitulate. Afterwards, when the forces 
under the command of M. de Buffy arrived in In- 
dia, the idea was relinquished of re-establishing- that 
place, which it had been found impracticable to re- 
tain. He took possession only of Goudelours 
and fort St. David, where the French established 
themselves, leaving Pondicherry open, and without 
defence, a prey to the first that should think proper 
to enter it. 

That unfortunate town was destined to become a 
school of fortification ; for the Dutch and English 
have never failed, when they got possession of it, to 
raze every thing at all connected with military de- 
fence ; so that, when ceded to France after a war, 
it was always to be rebuilt. M de la Bourdonnaie 
had given them an example of greater moderation 
when he took fort St. George at Madras. It is not 
my wish to reproach any nation unjustly : but it is 
certain that the English h??ve never taken but to 
destroy ; and their conquests may be easily traced 
by the ruins scattered on the shores of India. They 
could not evee spare the French lodge at Yanaon, 
a simple building, which they pulled down as far as 



INDIAN OCEAN* 



21 



the windows of the ground- floor, leaving Che ruins 
to attest their destructive disposition. Actuated 
by the same principles, after the last siege of Pou- 
dicherry, they not only razed the fortifications, hut 
even the barracks for the troops* The French 
government had formerly given them some um- 
brage, and they now revenged themselves upon the 
stones. 

When the French company, exhausted by losses, 
gave up its privilege, the royal administration took 
it into their own hands, it then appeared, that 
government was convinced of the necessity of op- 
posing a counter-balance to the English power, 
which threatened to become what it is at present ; 
and they endeavored t@ open a negotiation with the 
republic of Mahrattas, the only power that could af- 
ford effectual support. But petty means only were 
employed for this purpose : the company had ruin- 
ed itself by profusion, and now avarice became its 
substitute ; no one dared to enter into engagements, 
and the agents of England, lavish of their gold, 
promising much, threatening more, and making 
themselves respected by a force already become for- 
midable, soon gained the ascendancy. Again the 
Mauritius was resorted to ; and it was determined 
to make that place the centre of the French force to 
the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope. 

At length, a deserter from the black troops^ in 
the garrison of Pondicherry having made a large 
fortune, and laid the foundations of a considerable 
power, government seemed desirous of resuming 
the project of an alliance in the interior of the pen- 
insula. The attachment of this man to France, and 
his irreconcilable hatred to England, who coald 
#ever pardon bis usurpation, assured to the French 
#Hyder Aty, 



22 



VOYAGE IN THE 



the support of the kingdom of Mysore. In the war 
of 1778, some judicious steps were taken : a French 
battalion, under the orders of M. de Cossigny, sec* 
onded his son Tippoo Saib, who greatly distinguish- 
ed himself, from the hope of an irrevocable attach- 
ment to France. But al! was to no purpose : Hyder 
Aly died ; and his son at the peace of 1783, was 
unmercifully abandoned. 

Never was there a treaty so badly concerted ; for 
the victories just gained by M. de Suffiein might 
have been turned to advantage, io obtaining an in- 
crease of territory and some places of importance ; 
in a word, possessions that would have yielded a 
revenue* The English company at that time was 
not io a state to refuse a few sacrifices ; but, instead 
of their being demanded, mailers were replaced oa 
the same footing as before the war, the possession 
of a small territory in the environs of Karikal ex- 
cepted ; government had even tin? indiscretion to 
give up Goudelours and fort St. David, thereby 
placing an enemy's fortress between the two French 
possessions. Io short, France .seemed to have no 
ether object in view than to obtain the independ- 
ence of the English colonies* in America, and, sat- 
isfied on that score, entirely neglected her estab- 
lishments in India. On the coast of Malabar she 
obtained nothing ; Mabe was restored to her, with 
the same territory as she had possessed previously 
to the war. In Bengal, Chandernagore and its 
territory was also restored, without any thing being 
added ; and it was even stipulated, that a ditch 
should be sunk to drain off the water. It is re- 
markable, that this stipulation is to be found in the 
former treaty of peace. Also the ruins of the cita- 
del of this town, of which the victories of France 
ought to have obtained" a renovation* were once 



INDIA* OCEAN. 



23 



more condemned to remain as they were, dispersed 
over the deserted country. TLe Frer^h were al- 
lowed indeed lodges for commerce ; and they sap- 
posed themselves to have made a master-stroke of 
policy in stipulating for the enjoyment of an unlim- 
ited trade in India. Thus, laying aside the dignity 
of a great state, they submitted to play an interior 
part, under the empire of English pride. They 
pretended not to feel how useless was fhe condi- 
tion of an unlimited trade, without a sufficient pow- 
er to enforce the tre^ty^ which the enemy might at 
any time elude and shackle by vexations and de- 
lays. 

The event has proved how little dependence 
ought to have been placed on an engagement of 
this nature ; for, a year after the peace, viscount 
de Souillac, who was governor-general of the French 
establishments, was constrained to sign a separate 
treaty with the English governors, by which the 
salt trade, the most lucrative in Bengal, was reduced 
to eight hundred thousand maunds. — A maund is 
seventy-five pounds. 

As to Tippoo Sultan, he was not so much as 
mentioned in the treaty, but was abandoned in si- 
lence to the resentment of the English ; and the 
company would instantly have crushed him, but 
that it was deemed more advisable to wait till the 
French army should have quitted India, as it was 
notlikeiy that so considerable a force would be kept 
on so small a territory. This calculation appeared 
in the sequel to be just. 

Surprised at so disadvantageous a peace, and 
alarmed at the small degree of power retained by his 
allies is India, and the risk he should run if they 
were entirely to evacuate the country, that prince 
solicited some time after the support of France by 



24 



VOYAGE 1ST THE 



a solemn embassy, which he sent to Versailles ; b»t 
it was too late. The French government had come 
to a resolution to have only factors in India ; the 
Isle of Prance was again the place of arms, where 
all the forces were to be concentrated, and every 
where else the French were to appear only on the 
footing of merchants. Thi* system was supported 
with specious arguments. The English, it was said, 
will be on the losing side ; they will be charged 
with the defence of the country and ail the expenses 
of administration, while the French will have a 
trade without expense : they will have the trouble, 
and we the profit. Id this manner did they deceive 
themselves : no argument could convince them, 
that thte disadvantage was sufficient 4o cause the 
French to be excluded from a country, where their 
power was annihilated, by a nation sensible of her 
means, knowing how to turn them to profit, and 
determined never to recede a step when success or 
power attends her. The embassy of Tippoo had 
no other effect than that of causing England to de- 
mand a categorical answer from France, as to the 
intention of such a proceeding. To avoid dispute, 
the latter played a double part, and leaned to both 
sides, promising nothing certain to Tippoo, and or- 
dering shortly after the evacuation of Poodicherry. 
It was at this period that the first troubles broke out 
in Holland. France foreseeing hostilities between 
the powers of Europe, and fearful of having a part 
in them, ordered Mr. Conway to take possession 
of Troncomale, a port which insures the superiority 
of India to whatever power possesses it. That 
genera! had au army fully sufficient for the expedi- 
tion : the place was guarded by a French regiment 
in the service of the Dutch company (the legion of 
Luxembourg ;) of this corps he was sure : yet such 



INDIAN OCSAX. - * 25 

was the 111 design or injudicious conduct of the gen- 
eral, that he totally failed, and, having done nothing, 
returned to Pondicherry, which he evacuated some 
time after. 

During this expedition Pondicherry was left open 
and defenceless. The chevalier de Fresne, how- 
ever, a very active and able officer, animated with 
sentiments of honor, and attachment to the glory 
of his country, being commandant of the place, ex- 
erted himself so effectually, that in a short time he 
covered the town on the northern side, and extend- 
ed the fortifications to the gate of Vilnour, compris- 
ing two- thirds of its circumference. 

The general, returning from his fruitless crum, to 
his astonishment found the town in a state capable 
of making some defence. This circumstance cer- 
tainly, was no reason for abandoning it ; but, what- 
ever were his motives, he took this opportunity of 
putting the orders he had bofore received into ex- 
ecution, and departed for the Isle of France follow- 
ed by his forces and stores. Such precipitation 
raised the greater outcry against him, as he had 
been indiscreet enough to take a journey to Madras 
to see one of his old friends— a circumstance which 
malevolence did not fail to interpret to his disadvan- 
tage. Every thing, in fact, conspired to put the 
English company in possession of Pondicherry. The 
evacuation was so badly contrived that this unfortu- 
nate colony was left without even a possibility of 
making use of the small means of defence that re- 
mained : a few pieces of cannon were still in its 
possession ; but the balls left behind were of a dif- 
ferent calibre. The resolution, however, of the 
chevalier de Fresne triumphed over every obstacle : 
he obtained a reinforcement of two hundred infantry. 



C 



26 



VOYAGE IN THE 



formed and disciplined a battalion of Sepoys, and 
succeeded in guarding the town. 

Pondicherry has been always ill fortified ; that is 
to say, defended on a bad system : the object lias 
constantly been to shelter the whole town, instead 
of building a strong citadel, and making merely a 
simple curtain to put the town out of danger of an 
attack with cavalry. Madras is fortified in this 
manner, and the English have found the benefit of 
it. M. de Lalli's attempts on it were fruitless ; the 
capture of the town did not advance him an inch 
towards the citadel, of which he was obliged to raise 
the siege. 

Pondicherry is built in a circular form, on the 
borders of the sea, the coasts describing a chord, of 
which the ramparts were the sector. The radius is 
very considerable, as the sector was dodecagon, giv- 
ing thirteen bastions and twelve ravelins, without 
reckoning the shore. A place like this requires a 
garrison of thirteen thousand Men, according to M. 
de Vauban's scale of proportion, allowing five hun- 
dred men to each piece: and though the situation 
of the town, by facilitating its defence, may allow 
this number of troops to be in some degree diminish- 
ed, it must be observed, that I omit the sea -shore, 
which if fortified, ought to be made able to act 
against a fleet, which would require an additional 
number of men : so that, every allowance made, a 
garrison of twelve thousand men would at least be 
necessary to defend Pondicherry, according to the 
rules of. art, against an enemy who might attack it 
methodically, with the same means as are employed 
in Europe. On the contrary, had a good pentagon, 
or even a fort royal, been constructed, fifteen hun- 
dred men would have been sufficient ; the expense 
of construction too would have been diminished ; 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



27 



and it would have required a less quantity of artil- 
lery and stores. 

Pondicherry is advantageously situated. Cover- 
ed on the south by the river Coupang, called in the 
Portuguese language Arian-Coupang, it wouid be 
difficult to attack it regularly on that side. To the 
westward it is defended by an inundation, which 
would prevent the works necessary for an attack 
from being carried on, without infinite pains ; and 
if wro'uld be .difficult also to keep the water out of 
the trenches, Between this water and the Avian- 
Coupang are the road to Vilnour, and about three 
hundred toises of land ; and here an attack might 
be made : but the vulnerable point of Pondicherry 
is to the north* as the country in that quarter is 
favorable for the necessary operationsc An attack 
towards the gate of Vimour must always be a feign- 
ed one, to engage or distract the attention : the 
true one must be to the north ; and it is this point 
therefore which should be principally secured. If 
the same system of defence which has constantly 
been adopted be still persisted in, if it be wished to 
fortify the whole town, as has been hitherto the 
practice, I conceive that Cormontaigne's method 
could alone effectually defend it. M. de Fresne, 
deprived of the means of constructing regular for- 
tifications, having no tools, no stones, no bricks, no 
wood to burn the latter, and no money, confined 
himself to works of earth, which he threw up ac- 
cording to the first method of Vauban, without 
tenailles, but with a ravelin before each curtain ; 
and as the earth in this country is apt to fly out, he 
gave to his ramparts a very great slope, and left at 
the foot of them a large berine to receive the earth 
that might fall down, and prevent it from filling up 
the ditch* The enemy having succeeded in drain- 



28 



VOYAGE IN THE 



ing the ditch during the siege which M. de Belle- 
coiiibe sustained, attempts were made to guard 
against the inconvenience, by digging deep enough 
to attain a level lower than the river Arian-Cou- 
pang and the sheet of water ; and security was thus 
obtained on that side. But though the ditch was 
deep and broad, the earth taken out was insufficient 
to construct the rampart as could have been wish- 
ed. The bastions were not filled : they were ac- 
cordingly less spacious, and did not afford to the 
party in possession the means of entrenching them- 
selves. 

At the time of my arrival in this town, the south 
side was just finished, but no covered way could be 
Biade, nor glacis that was tolerable : iieither were 
there any palisades ; for though they had cut and 
bought gome at Trincomale, they had neglected to 
bring them ; and if I except the place of arms of 
the ravelin covering the gate of Viinour, and a few 
re-entering angles on the north front, there was 
not a single paiisade in the whole circuit of the 
town. Two gates were still uncovered, without 
even a barrier ; and the causeways across the ditch, 
leading from these gates, were massive,- with no 
draw-bridge, nor an}' thing capable of defending 
them. The quarter towards the sea was open, and 
couid oppose no other resistance, in case of attack, 
than a small battery, a barbette, used for salutes, ex- 
cept towards the north, where there was a front in 
which they had contrived a gate, covered by a mis- 
erable ravelin. It was in this state when the Eng- 
lish attacked it the last time ; and how it could 
have held out thirteen days after the opening of the 
trenches is astonishing. No revetment was any 
where to be seen : by filling the ditch with fascines, 
it might have been taken by storm at the first onset ; 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



29 



while, by advancing methodically, the mining might 
have been carried ou to the glacis in a single day. 
The earth of that country is too light for mines to 
be erected without the assistance of masons ; for 
they would not answer in wood, and no time had 
been given for their construction : the English knew 
very well that there were none there, and it is almost 
incredible that they should have taken so much 
precaution in their approach, and have been obliged 
to make two attacks. The French at present would 
take a place like this in twelve hours. 

As the king had ordered Pondicherry to be aban- 
doned, the town would probably have been convert- 
ed into a factory, if the talents of a single individual 
had not preserved it as a military place. The situ- 
ation of the French in India was at that moment 
very precarious : Pondicherry was their chief estab- 
lishment ; and its government extended over its 
own territory and that of Karikal, independently of 
other establishments, which we shall proceed to des- 
cribe. 

The two possessions of Pondicherry and Karikaf, 
together, might bring in a revenue of a lack and a 
half of rupees, which is a very insignificant sum. 
A rupee is nearly fifty sols ; a lack is an hundred 
thousand rupees : so that a lack and a half make 
about three hundred and seventy-five thousand li- 
vres. This revenue was intended to suffice for the 
expense not only of those two establishments, but 
for that of others also that might require support. 

To the northward, at Masulipatam, a lodge was 
established, and an agent appointed, to facilitate the 
commerce of handkerchiefs. As this article is suf- 
ficiently known, I shall not enlarge upon the sub- 
ject ; : — so much for the coast of Coromande!. 

Karikal furnished rice and some piece goods 3 such 



so 



VOYAGE IN THE 



as perculles, chittaras, &c. Pondicberry snpplied 
Bengal with salt, and carried on a tolerable trade in 
bine dye. It was there that the white cloth sent 
from the north was dyed blue, and which then took 
the name of guinea-cloth. There also were painted 
chittaras and handkerchiefs a vignette of all kinds 
and on every sort of cloth. Moreover, what are 
called carabays, or white and blue linen, of differ- 
ent patterns were fabricated there, such as chasse- 
lees, bajutapoe3, neganepoes, tapseils, fotes, corots, 
handkerchiefs, brawles, cosselees, coupis, and other 
articles proper for trading with the Blacks, as well 
as a great quantity of white cloths known by the 
names of perculles and platilles. The dimities 
were procured at Goudelours. These objects uni- 
ted might raise, , on an average, annually, about 
twelve or fifteen hundred thousand livres ; so that 
the trade was contained within very circumscribed 
limits. 

On the coast of Golconda, France possessed a 
considerable aldee called Yanaon, situal * on the riv- 
er Godwarin, where she established a chief, several 
factories, and a regular police. This aldee was 
very populous, being the principal mart of the 
French commerce in that country. It contained 
six extremely rich commercial houses, without in- 
cluding the resident, who was almost always a civil 
or military officer. Here the contracts were made 
for the white linen-cloth fabricated in the neigh- 
borhood, which was brought in a raw state to Ya- 
naon, where being bleached and packed up in bales, 
it was sent down the small river of Coringui, to the 
bay of the sam* name, where the ships received it. 

From this aldee were obtained the linens called 
four-thread's, white and raw, and those called con- 
jons. Conjon is an assemblage of an hundred and 



INDIAN OCEAN, 



31 



twenty threads : as the width of the cloth never va- 
ries, the greater number of conjons there are in a 
piece, the finer the linens must be. They begin 
counting at fourteen ; at twenty-six the cloth may 
be called fine ; thirty makes very beautiful shirting ; 
it becomes superb at thirty six, and at fifty it amounts 
to the ne plus ultra, beyond which they no longer 
count by conjons. The linen is that called bastard, 
and is of a most admirable texture and fineness. 

The linen of twenty-six conjons is the most salea- 
ble ; it is worth on an average, thirteen rupees a 
piece ; but the bastard cloth ought to sell for ten 
pagodas. 

To understand these Indian coins, it may be nec- 
essary to observe that an hundred star- pagodas, in 
the ordinary course of exchange, are worth from 
three hundred and fifty-four to three hundred and 
sixty rupees of Pondicherry ; the three-figured pa- 
goda fetches two percent, more, while that of Porta- 
Nova, the least valuable of all, is sometimes reduced 
to three hundred. The current value of the page- 
da is nine livres. 

The rupee of Pondicherry is not the highest in 
value, but it possesses the advantage of never vary- 
ing. France has had the liberty of coining money 
since the period when M. Dupleix was invested with 
the title of nabob. The money was royal, and its 
standard fixed by the ordinances of the king : the 
course of exchange was two hundred and thirteen 
rupees and a half for one hundred Spanish dollars. 
The rupee of Pondicherry is known by a crescent 
over a moorish legend on one side. The sicca ru- 
pee is the most valuable^ and is known by a palm- 
tree ; in general, two hundred of these are equal 
to a hundred doiiars. The arcot rupee is an article 
of traffic, and varies according to the demand for it. 



32 



VOYAGE IN THE 



Yanaoo was certainly the place where France 
commercially had most to do. All her vessels were 
consigned to Yanaon, and the briskness of trade nat- 
urally produced a great degree of affluence. It was 
the most considerable aldee of the north. The sums 
laid out there in linen might amount, one year with 
another, in French and English commissions togeth- 
er, to twenty lacks of rupees, making nearly five 
millions of iivres : to such a state was the commerce 
of the bay of Bengal reduced. 

The government of Pondicherry extended also 
over the small town of Mahe, situated on the coast 
of Malabar. This town, formerly strong, populous, 
commercial, and the chief establishment of the 
French on that coast, is now reduced to nothing ; 
it has experienced the same fate as every other 
place conquered by the English, namely, that of 
seeing its walls razed to their foundations. France 
has never thought of rebuilding them, and has con* 
sequent?? kept no military force there : the town 
has remained in a state of dullness and inactivity, 
increased by the vicinity of fort Talichery, whence 
the English continually menace it, and by means of 
which they may be considered as masters of it. 

The trade of Mahe consists of pepper and beetle- 
nuts. It also produces a light kind of earth which 
serves to filter water ; and which the natives have 
the art of making so thin and fine, that many of 
them, particularly women, in the habit of thus re- 
galing themselves, do not hesitate to eat it This 
earth is extremely spongy, and readily absorbs any 
liquid, without losing its consistency ; and it often 
happens, after preserves have been served up on 
plates made of it, that the syrup remains imbibed, 
and the ladies eat them. 

The beetie-nut is in great request throughout In- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



33 



dia ; it resembles a nutmeg, in size as well as con- 
texture and shape, without possessing either its taste 
or fragrance. The inside is of a lively red color, 
and has an agreeable flavor ; the Indians in general 
consume a great quantity of these nuts. 

The town of Chandenagore and the lodges of 
Bengal, such as those of Balassore, Patna, Dacca, 
and Chatigam, are also dependent on Pondicherry ; 
and these places, with the large villages of Mahe and 
Karikal, the aldee or village of Yanaon, the houses 
of Masulipatam, with a revenue of about four hun- 
dred and twenty thousand livres, of which three 
hundred and seventy-five thousand arose from land, 
constituted the whole of the French power on the 
two coasts of India and in the province of Bengal. 

To such a 3tate was the nation reduced which 
formerly in this part of the globe vied with England 
in splendor ; whilst her rival saw her flag hoisted 
on three principal fortresses, that secured to her the 
peaceable possession of the provinces she had ac- 
quired, and in which she supported, in 1791, inclu- 
ding Blacks and Europeans, a force of twenty-five 
thousand men. 

Having thus described the situation of the French 
in India, anterior to the present war, I shall add a 
few details on their coast establishments, before I 
speak of Bengal. 

Though Trincomale does not belong to France, 
is on the coast of Ceylon, and not on that of India, 
yet as it is situated in the bay of Bengal, as the 
French flag was flying there for some time, as it is 
become famous by the efforts of admirajp Suffrein 
and Hugues, and as it is besides of extreme impor- 
tance in time of war, the superiority in India de- 
pending on the possession of it, I shall begin with 
that town, 



34 



VOYAGE IN THE 



Trincomale, or Triokenomale, belong* to the 
Dutch, or at least was theirs before the present \var, 
that nation, by a treaty with the king of Ceylon, be- 
ing in possession of the whole coast of that island. 
It was alternately taken and retaken during the war 
of 1778, and at last remained with the French, who 
faithfully resigned it to the Dutch company at the 
peace of 1 783. 

The reputation of this town is certainly above its 
real value, The fort, properly speaking, consists 
but of a front, fot tification on the method of Maro- 
lois ; it is in tact nothing more than a horn-work, 
whose two branches terminate on a .mountain, at the- 
foot of which it is situated, and by which it is de- 
fended behind ; so that Trincomale can only be 
attacked on one side. The two branches of the 
horn- work are defended by the sea ; or, to make 
myself better understood, the mountain of Trinco- 
male is a large peninsula separated from the main 
land by an isthmus not exceeding two hundred 
toises in width, and which is barred by a front for- 
tification. And this is the place that has made so 
much noise. Behind the fortification, at the foot 
of the mountain, is what is called the town, con- 
sisting of three small rows of houses, which form 
two streets. Near the foot of the mountain is also 
a well of very good water, the more valuable as 
there is no other truly diinkable to be found in 
the country. From the situation of this fortress, it 
would only be necessary to disembark a body of 
troops stronger than the garrison, and appear before 
the place, to blockade and starve it out. Its sole 
advantage" is the being built on a rock, so that it can* 
never be approached by mining, which must tei* 
minate about fifty toises from the foot of the rampart. 
When M. de Suffrein took it, there were no ad« 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



35 



vanced works, except indeed a shapeless heap of 
earth, incapable of concealing in every part the hot* 
torn of the wall ; so that the battering cannon, once 
mounted, might have been directed advantageously, 
without the trouble of a regular approach. The 
enemy did not wait for this, but surrendered in good 
time. 

The Dutch major Von-baur has since remedied 
this inconvenience. That intelligent officer, with 
infinite patience, procured earth from other parts, 
and formed therewith a counterscarp and a good 
ditch. He constructed a ravelin, of necessity very 
small, as the line of defence is extremely short. 
The whole is surrounded by a good covered way, 
well pallisaded, and a glacis, by means of which it 
would be more easily defended against a sudden 
assault. The chief defect of the place is its situa- 
tion. 

Trincomale presents one of those striking traits 
which characterise the genius of a nation. In the 
hands of an active and energetic government, it 
would have become an impregnable fortress. It 
might have'secured to its masters the possession of 
the whole coast of Coromandel, from which it is 
distant only twenty-four hours sail ; it would have 
served as a rallying point, -both against the powers 
of India and those of Europe ; it would have been 
an arsenal whence they might have derived every 
means of attack and defence in the peninsula ; and 
its harbors and road would have admitted of a for- 
midable naval establishment : in a word, Trinco- 
ynale, in the possession of an enterprising nation, 
might have become the capital of India. Calcutta, 
which now enjoys that pre-eminence, is situated 
much less favorably for war. 

Instead of feeling these advantages, the Dutch 



36 



VOYAGE IN THE 



contented themselves with making it a small post 
just capable of defending them from any slight at- 
tack. Nature held out to them the means of ren- 
dering it a second Gibraltar ; for by building a 
large citadel on the top of the mountain it would 
have been rendered inaccessible. This mountain is 
so steep as to be nearly perpendicular on every side ; 
is is formed like a tortoise, and would admit of a 
very extensive town. By digging wells in the rock, 
water would have been found in abundance ; it 
might have contained magazines of provisions for 
the service of a year or more ; from its height it 
would have been sheltered from the ricochet and en- 
filade ; and in short, would have protected so effec- 
tually the back bay, that it might have blown to 
atoms any fleet daring enough to cast anchor in it. 
Instead of adopting a plan like this, the first settlers, 
struck with the facility of barring the isthmus of 
which I haee spoken, and of entrenching themselves 
at the foot of the mountain against the natives of 
the country, imagined they could do nothing better 
than construct in haste a front fortification ; and 
even in doing this they followed a defensive meth- 
od, then in vogue, and which was merely sufficient 
to defend them against the Blacks of Candy. This 
work, very solidly built of stone, must have cost a 
considerable sum of money ; and when the Euro- 
peans at length became rivals in the seas of India, 
and had a mutual wish to dispossess each other, the 
Dutch campany, actuated by petty mercantile views, 
adhered to it from avarice. If they were to alter 
the system of defence, and establish themselves on 
the mountain, what tbey already had expended 
would be wholly lost; and they sacrificed every 
thing to so trifling a consideration. They contin- 
ued, as well as they could, to meliorate their actual 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



37 



situation, and were far from wishing to form an ex- 
pensive establishment, whilst the one in question 
was not only already completed, but also required, 
from the nature of the fortification, only very small 
means for its defence and support. Such a system 
of economy was clear gain in the eyes of a people, 
who, extending their views no further than the 
mechanism of trade, consider details merely without 
looking to important results. Hence, notwithstand- 
ing all that nature had done to render it celebrated, 
the port of Trincomale was condemned, from the in- 
sensibility of its masters, to remain in obscurity. 

When we take a view of the island of Ceylon, 
and reflect on the situation of the Dutch establish- 
ments there, we are unable to guess for what reason 
they should fix their principal residence at Colom- 
bo, and why so wretched a port should have been 
made the capital of the island, instead of Trinco- 
male. Is it possible they could have been induced 
to such a measure by the pearl-fishery in the gulf of 
Mauar ? That fishery is now so much reduced, 
that they might easily have judged how very defec- 
tive such views would have been. If the cultiva- 
tion of sugar in that neighborhood was their reason, 
they might have obtained the same advantage at 
Trincomale. How could they neglect to fix the 
centre of their power in this port, by which they 
might have preserved their colonies of Palliacata 
and Sadras, and especially that of Negapatam, 
which they had seen transferred to the hands of 
their enemies ? That they have kept the two first is 
simply owing to their possessions, in the state to 
which they are reduced, having become of no con- 
sequence. Palliacata, too near Madras, has seen 
its commerce swallowed up by the latter, even to 
its beautiful manufacture of handkerchiefs ; and 
D 



38 



VOYAGE IN THE 



Sndras is now nothing more than a village moul- 
dering behind the ruins of a fortress, the ramparts 
of which, dislocated by mines, still exhibit their 
former strength. The dwellings of the interior, 
unroofed and stripped, have the appearance of hous- 
es destroyed by fire ; a spectacle common enough 
in places conquered by the English, and to which 
the traveller who visits the country must accustom 
himself. 

The fort of Trincomale not being large enough to 
contain all those who might have wished to settle 
there if the establishment had been prosperous, and 
scarcely affording sufficient room for the garrison, 
a piece of land was marked out for building a town 
on the outside, on the plain which separates the 
back bay from the harbor. But, with the excep- 
tion of an extensive row of trees, used for the bazar 
or market place of the Blacks, the town has remain- 
ed imaginary ; for I cannot call by that name a 
few gardens for the cultivation of tobacco, and 
three bouses, with about thirty huts. This is a 
natural effect of the monopoly of the Dutch, com- 
pany, which not only refused to encourage com- 
merce themselves, but even prevented industrious 
men from settling in their establishments. 

At the end of the war of 1778, the French had 
begun in some measure, to enliven trade at Trin- 
comale. Cinnamon was easily procured there. 
Now that port has nothing to offer for sale ; and 
when I put in there, on my return, with the 'Uni- 
ted Friends, a ship which I commanded in 1792, I 
could not procure the least refreshment, though I 
had many articles which the commandant was 
anxious to obtain, and though the administration 
was in the greatest want of opium for the Malays 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



39 



living there. * As the country afforded no article 
of exchange except some bad tobacco cultivated in 
the neighborhood, I could do no business. Money 
besides was not known among them, and they had 

* The natives of the peninsula of Malacca are in the habit of 
eating a great quantity of opium, of which they are very fond : 
the effect it produces on them is a furious drunkenness. Those 
who take too large a dose fall into a paroxism of rage, from 
which death alone can relieve them : for this reason government 
keep men in pay at Malacca, whose employment is to patroie 
the streets on festivals, and who are always within call, should a 
man intoxicated with opium appear in the streets : if any one 
be seen in this situation, they pursue and kill him without mercy. 
But for this precaution, these madmen would commit the most 
terrible excesses, and though the utmost activity is used, it is of- 
ten impossible to prevent accidents- They are generally armed 
with a poniard which they call krist or krick.. the blade of which 
is half an inch broad and about eight inches long • it is made in 
a serpentine foim, and leaves a wound at least two iuches wide, 
which it is hardly practicable to probe, on account of the sinuos- 
ities occasioned by the instrument. This weapon is the more 
terrible from being poisoned. Its blade is always covered with 
grease, in which it is supposed they boil the green wood of the 
mancenitier. The e&ect of this poison is so sure, that it is im- 
possible to escape; a wound made with this is certain death. 
They carry this krist in a wooden sheath, the blade being secur- 
ed so as to avoid all friction, and preserve the poison with which 
it is covered, and which time, the general destroyer, seems to 
improve ; at least the older it grows the more rapidly it acts. 

To form an idea of the rage and fury with which this opium 
inspires them, we should see them in their combats on board 
pirate vessels, receive a lance through their bodies, and not being 
able to draw it out, take hold of it and plunge it further in, to be 
able to get at their enemy, and stab him vvith their krist ; a spe- 
cies of ferocity that obliges ships in danger of falling in with 
them to provide themselves with lances that have a guard 
through the middle of the shaft, by means of which they keep 
them off and suffer them to die at the end of the weapon with- 
out daring to draw it out till these furious beings have breathed 
their last. 

The Dutch, by arming them with muskets, have rendered them 
tolerable soldiers, and substitute them instead of Sepoys : they 
are stationed at almost all their establishments ; and it is seldom 
thatTrincomaleis without some companies of them. 



40 



VOYAGE IN THE 



nothing to offer me in payment but the company's 
notes, which I could not possibly accept. 

Notwithstanding this state of penury, the estab- 
lishment at the time I was there had an appearance 
of vigor. The king of Candy having refused to 
fulfil his treaty for cinnamon, and having destroyed 
besides from dissatisfaction a great number of trees, 
which were too contiguous to the Dutch establish- 
ments, the company had resolved to march an ar- 
my against him, and the governor-general of the 
island had in consequence sent a reinforcement from 
Colombo. The number of white troops amounted 
nearly to a thousand men, which gave to the place 
a considerable appearance of life and activity ; but 
-as to the road my ship was the only one to be seen 
at anchor there. 

Independently of the fort of Trincomale, the 
Dutch have built another for the defence of the 
port. This is on a mountain ; and if they had tak- 
en half of the pains with the first, which they have 
bestowed, at clear loss, on the second, they would 
have succeeded in making it a place capable of re- 
sistance. This fort is called Ostembourg, from the 
name of the mountain on which it is built : it is 
simply an oval, without angles or any thing what- 
ever to flank. The battery is intended to cover the 
harbor ; and the situation in reality is well chosen 
for the purpose, and, had it been differently con- 
structed, might have been of very great service, 
though, on account of its elevation, the shot thrown 
from it must lose the advantage of rising again when 
they touch the water, and also that of raking the 
enemy, which is very much against it. But, by a 
most astonishing want of judgment in a nation 
known to be considerate, the only mountain not ac- 
cessible is that on which they have neglected to 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



41 



build ; while they have constructed a defective 
fort at a great expense, on an eminence to which it 
is practicable to climb, and on which artillery may 
be mounted out of reach of their guns. They have 
not even cleared away the woods, under shelter of 
which it is easy to advance within ten toises of the 
rampart. The engineer (I humbly beg pardon for 
calling him so) who fortified Ostembourg seemed 
nevertheless to have had an idea that it might be 
attacked on the mountain side ; for, instead of 
terminating his fort circularly on that side, as in 
every other part, he formed a strait line, which 
barred the whole breadth of the mountain. Had 
he understood what he was about, he might have 
reaped great advantages from its situation ; in re- 
ality he should have cleared away all the wood 
within cannon-shot, have formed an esplanade with 
it, and then, throwing up entrenchments and pal- 
isading them, have opposed a regular front to an 
attack. It had the advantage of not being able to 
be turned, and of defiling the faces of the bastions* 
which could never hnve been attacked but in front. 
But it was never supposed that it would enter the 
imagination of an enemy to approach this place by 
land, and nothing was thought of but erecting a 
battery for the harbor. M. de Suffrein, however, 
proved that an attack on the side of the mountain 
was practicable, for it was on that side that he took 
it. 

Whatever be the defects of this fort, it cost in 
the construction a great deal of money. A number 
of useless works were erected, and among the rest 
an enormous cistern ; whereas, with the eighth 
part of the expense, a well might have been sunk 
in the mountain, which is only composed of soft 
rough stone, and water would have been found at a 
D 2 



42 



VOYAGE ltf THE 



very little depth, as it is met with in some places 
halfway up the declivity. 

The mountain of Ostembourg is one of those vast 
calcareous masses rising in this canton, between 
which the ocean has left passages and openings, 
which at present form magnificent bays and an ex- 
cellent harbor. It is of an oblong form, steep at 
one extremity, and at the other gradually sloping off 
towards the plain ; it projects into the grand bason 
which forms the harbor, and divides it into two 
parts, Nicholson-bay being on one side, and Ostem- 
bourg-road on the other. 

The passage for entering the harbor, is towards 
the steep extremity, at the foot of which, near the 
edge of the water, is erected a raking battery, which 
would have an excellent effect if it could be shelter- 
ed from the splinters which the enemy's shot would 
sever from the mountain. This battery however, 
the fort of Ostembourg, and that of Trincomale, 
having no communication with each other, and no 
Intermediate posts, can render no mutual support ; 
they are besides without defiles into the interior of 
the country, by which to obtain subsistence after the 
enemy has made good his landing. 

The harbor of Trincomale is certainly very su« 
perb ; and to judge of it from the accounts that 
have been given, it would seem to require nothing 
to render it perfect ; there are, however, inconven- 
iences belonging to it which it is proper should be 
madt^ known. 

The principal bay is immense ; but it has no an- 
chorage, and is scarcely navigable. To enter the 
port, a ship must work across it ; which is in some 
measure dangerous, as there are many rock*« some 
of which are eight or ten feet only below the sur- 
face of the water, which renders it necessary to have 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



43 



a pilot ; to obtain whom you 6rst come to anchor 
in what is called the Back bay, under the fort of 
Trincomale, where there is very good ground. Of 
all the creeks and bays of the establishments, this 
would be the best, if there was any shelter in the 
bad season during the north east monsoon ; but it is 
then not tenable, and you must get into port. 

During the south-west monsoon it is the only 
place frequented by ships, because there is anchor- 
age on each tack ; and when they wish to depart, 
they may be out at sea in an instant without diffi- 
culty. Nevertheless, as this little bay is not shel- 
tered, there is always a great swell in it, which 
makes the vessels roll, and renders it impossible to 
careen them. 

The inner part of the great bay affords an an- 
chorage near the river Gotiar ; but there is this in- 
convenience attending it, that frequently during the 
south-west monsoon, a vessel may beat a whole day 
without getting in so far : in which case, as there is 
no anchorage any where else, it is obliged to return 
to the Back-bay to recommence on the morrow its 
attempts. An equal difficulty is found during the 
north east monsoon in getting out ; and this is the 
more to he dreaded, as after a whole day spent in 
the attempt, night may bring on a storm, and expose 
the vessel to the danger of perishing on the coast, 
from which it may not have been able to make a 
sufficient offing*. 

When we have succeeded in getting to the fur- 
ther end of the bay, we put about for the harbor, 
and come to anchor at Ostembourg-point. The 
shore of that mountain is so bold, that a boat run 
aground at the head will have fourteen fathom water 
at the rudder : at half a cable's length there will be 
thirty- three fathom. 



44 



VOYAGE IN THE 



This bason is Improperly called the harbor : 
it is rather an immense bay, where ships are moor- 
ed across; and where there is a heavy swell, though 
it is landlocked on every side ; but the bay is so ex- 
tensive, that the leeward side is always very much 
agitated. The middle of the bay has a soft clay 
bottom, in which anchors sink so deep as to render 
it impossible to recover them. Further on towards 
the inmost part of the harbor, is a rock of no small 
extent ; but the bay is so large and so little frequent- 
ed, that there is more than sufficient room for such 
vessels as wish to enter it. The inconvenience of 
not being able to get in without beating to windward 
must be extremely disagreeable to a vessel in any 
kind of distress. Should she be leaky, with only 
a few hands, exhausted by fatigue, the inconven- 
ience must be considerably increased by being 
obliged to spend a day or more in tacking to arrive 
at the careening-place ; and if the rigging be bad, 
this becomes impossible : she must then of necessi- 
ty bring up in a great depth of water in the Back- 
bay, till assistance arrives, by which she may be 
enabled to enter the harbor ; which must greatly re- 
tard her operations. 

There is the same disadvantage for a ship of war 
after an engagement. If totally dismasted, it is 
impossible for her to get in under jury-masts ; and 
if the hull also be impaired, she cannot obtain the 
smallest relief ; for in the Back bay, the only place 
where she could be moored, there would be no pos- 
sibility of her refitting. In addition to these incon- 
veniences the vastness of the harbor must be con- 
sidered. During the south-west monsoon vessels 
are careened at the greater island ; but if a breeze 
spring up in the offing or in the north-east, their po- 
sition must be instantly altered, for the sea swells so 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



45 



suddenly, that they would be in considerable danger. 
During the other monsoon the careening is done in 
Nicholson's-bay, but that is no better sheltered ; 
and in VAnse des Cours, where there is also anchor- 
age, there is the same disadvantage. These differ- 
ent places, besides, are above three miles distant 
from each jther, and six from the fort of Trinco- 
male. How difficult, or at least expensive, it would 
be, provided they could mutually assist one another, 
to form establishments ia each, may easily be con- 
ceived. Some miserable storehouses, indeed, have 
been constructed at the foot of the mountain of 
Ostembourg, and supposing an establishment were 
foimed there, sufficient for the operations of a con- 
siderable port, the difficulty would remain to find a 
place where ships might be built and launched. 
For the rest, the principal disadvantage of this port 
is the want of good water : except a small spring at 
the foot of the mountain of Qstembourg, towards 
Nicholson' s-bay, there is none scarcely to be found. 
The other springs afford but little, and are drained 
by the natives. During the war of J 778 we were 
obliged to supply ourselves from the river Cotiar, 
which is nine miles distant, as all the wells about 
Trincomale were brackish and unwholesome. Not- 
withstanding all this, the harbor is an inestimable 
benefit ; for there is no other in this part of India, 
and the possession, of it is of the highest importance. 

The environs of Trincomale are uncultivated. 
About fifteen miles from the fort is a fountain of 
warm water. It jets out in two places. One of 
the sources is too hot to be borne ; the other is of 
a moderate heat ; and twenty feet from the latter 
rises a spring of cold water. 

The woods with which this country is covered 
are near the town. It would be imprudent to enter 



46 



VOYAGE IN THE 



them unarmed, as they abound in buffaloes, ele- 
phants, and tigers, to which Buffon gives the name 
of ounce : there are also a great number of monkeys 
there. The river Cotiar is near a lake, where the 
wild elephants frequently resort to bathe. Our sai- 
lors often had skirmishes with them. 

The southern coast of the great bay is terminated 
by Sale-point ; it abounds in peacocks and quails, 
but there is very little shooting, on account of the 
wild beasts, which there is danger of falling in with. 
Mr. Sonnerat found there what is called the primi- 
tive cock, and which Buffon maintains to be the gol- 
den pheasant. I saw one of them in Mr. Casenove's 
garden at Pondicherry. Mr. Sonnerat shewed me 
another stuffed, a most beautiful bird, the feathers 
of which were all covered with gold-coloured spots. 
He has given a description of it that is accurate, to 
which the reader may refer. 

On a small rock called the Chape! are oysters, 
and it is the only place where they are to be found. 
Cattle are so scarce at Trincomale, that a small 
piece of beef is a dish of the greatest value. While 
the French were masters of it, they introduced a 
species of goats, called maroon dogs, which at that 
time formed the chief supply of the kitchen. But 
these flocks are insensibly exhausted ; and when I 
returned there, nothing was to be had but fish and 
cheese. The commandant having done me the 
honor of inviting me to dinner, gave me nothing else, 
and for drink all he had to offer his guests was grog 
made of arrack and water. At the dessert indeed 
there were served up, as a dainty, a bottle of bran- 
dy and another of gin, accompanied with the same 
demonstrations as are used at Paris in offering a glass 
of hermitage or tokay. In a word, such was the 
misery of the country, that even a candle was a lux- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



47 



ury, and there was nothing but ,oil of cocoa to sub- 
stitute in its stead. 

Ceylon may in a manner be considered as the 
country of cocoa nuts, the island being almost cov- 
ered with the trees : it also produces very excellent 
rice, and towards the southern part, in the neighbor- 
hood of Panto Gallo and Colombo, the Dutch cul- 
tivate sugar. These three articles together pro- 
duce a considerable trade ; they serve to make ar- 
rack, of which a great quantity is exported to dif- 
ferent parts of India, and cocoa-hair, which is used 
in forming cables for ships. 

The manners of this canton being nearly the 
same as those of the coast of India, I sha'l pass on 
to Pondicherry, taking a slight glance at the village 
of Karikal. 

This possession is a small aldee to the south of 
the Danish settlement at Trinkebar. The French 
government keeps a military commandant there, 
with a detachment of troops of colour. Its princi- 
pal product is nely % a name given to rice when it is 
simply threshed, without being disengaged from its 
outer skin. This ne!y serves for the consumption 
of Pondicherry. The establishment of Karika!, in 
common with other parts of the coast, makes salt, 
which the French carry to Bengal. The govern- 
ment of Pondicherry gives boas 9 or permits, every 
year, to transport it into that province, to the amount, 
in quantity, of eight hundred thousand maunds, or 
sixty millions weight : it must be delivered to the 
.English company, who engage to take it at a cer- 
tain price before agreed on, and pay in ready mon- 
ey : if any be sent without such permit, it is con- 
fiscated ; or if more than eight hundred thousand 
maunds, the quantity stipulated by the contract, be 
sent, it is also seized ; and persons attempting to 



48 



VOYAGE IN THE 



introduce salt into Bengal, and selling it to the na- 
tives, are punished as defrauders, These permits 
form a part of the riches of the French government, 
in addition to its territorial revenue. A portion of 
them is set apart for the support of widows, orph- 
ans, and the poor. The rest are sold to individu- 
als, and the produce goes into the coffers of gov- 
ernment. 

From the southern point of the coast of Coroman- 
del to the Palm-tree Point, which terminates the 
bay of Balassore, it is impossible to make good a 
landing in European boats. The ocean, which, for 
a long continuity of ages has successively retired, 
both from the mountains of the Gauts, and the 
plain on which they are elevated, is daily raising 
the coast, which it insensibly abandons ; it is con- 
tinually amassing sand and wrecks of marine pro- 
ductions over its whole extent, of which it gradually 
forms a bank, destined at some future day to be- 
come the coast, against which it will again throw 
up other banks. These sands form what is called 
the bar ; against which the sea is almost constantly 
beating with great fury. The extremities of the 
waves which pass over the bank lodge between it 
and the shore, where they form new waves. The 
alternate movement of the surge, which tends to 
undermine the shore, and the retrograde movement 
of these waves, seeking to re unite themselves with 
the mass of the sea, occasion an excavation between 
the bank and the coast. This space, about pistol- 
shot wide, makes what is called the ressac of the 
bar. As it is only the top of the wave which passes 
over the bank forming the bar, the depth of water 
is not more than a foot, and is often less. The 
surge sometimes rises considerably above it, and 
breaks with violence* An European boat, attempt- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



49 



ing this passage, would run the risk of touching on 
the bank, and of being swallowed up by the waves. 
To prevent this flat-bottomed boats called chelin- 
gues, are constructed, without beams, and which 
have the planks sewed together, instead of being 
nailed. This formation gives them more elasticity, 
allows them to bend when they are struck by the 
surge, and prevents them from being so easily stove 
as other boats : they are so flat, that they do not 
draw when loaded above six inches water, and some 
not even so much ; they are extremely high at the 
sides seldom less than four feet, so that when the 
surf overtakes them, as it cannot reach over the 
side, they are in less danger of being filled. They 
are generally manned with nine Blacks, and when 
the sea runs high with eleven. The person who 
steers stands up abaft, and is furnished with an ex- 
tremely large oar, with which he endeavors to keep 
the end of the boat always towards the wave. 
Long experience points out to them that all waves | 
are not of equal strength, and that after three heavy 
ones there will at last succeed one less violent. 
They watch their opportunity and are seldom de- 
ceived. Floating along on that which they deem 
to be the most manageable, they follow it up, with 
the foam constantly a-head of their chelingue. The 
rest of the wave, still swelling, affords them suffi- 
cient water to clear the bank, and they arrive thus 
in perfect safety, pursued by another wave, which 
breaks behind them upon the bar, but unable to 
overtake them, is no impediment to their attaining 
the landing place. Great, however, as their skill 
may be, they do not always succeed ; sometimes 
they are deceived in the swell, or they steer badly, 
or else are rot in good trim ; and they are then sur- 
prised by the surf, upset, and every thing contained 



50 



VOYAGE IN THE 



in the chelingue is tumbled into the sea. As (hey 
are all excellent swimmers, they lay hold of the Eu- 
ropeans, and save them, but the goods are in dan- 
ger of being lost. 

To guard against a misfortune like this, when 
large sums of money are confided to them, or other 
articles of value, they tie a rope to them, and fix at 
the end of it a buoy, by which they know where the 
effects are, and are able to recover them. 

When the sea runs so high that they are appre- 
hensive of an accident, they add to these precautions 
that of providing a catimaron to accompany their 
chelingue. This is a bundle of three pieces of wood 
tied together with cords. Their width prevents 
them from upsetting, and as they have no interior 
capaciousness, they cannot sink. The Blacks seat 
themselves on this sort of raft, with their legs 
bent under them, sometimes relieving themselves 
from so tiresome an attitude by letting them hang 
over in the water. There have been instances of 
sharks carrying off some of these men from the reef 
when in their general attitude, whether on their 
knees or sitting down ; the sea washes them to the 
middle of their bodies ; the only dry part is the 
head, on which therefore they carry the papers that 
are confided to them, in a cap made for the pur- 
pose. 

On vessels of this frail description the natives of 
India, and particularly the islanders of the Anda- 
mans and the Straits, undertake long voyages. 
They put a mast to this wretched catimaron, and 
fix to it a weight, which serves to counterbalance 
an enormous sail, and prevent their upsetting ; thus 
equipped, they make way with astonishing celerity. 
If any accident happens, they have recourse to 
swimming, and, like so many fishes, as if the ele- 



INDIAN" OCEAN. 



51 



merit was nafural to them, put their machine to 
rights, on which they seat themselves again, and 
continue their voyage. 

When we arrive on the coast of India, the first 
objects we discern are the flags of the town we ap- 
proach : they are seen floating on the sea, as though 
they had emerged from its bosom. The coast is 
low, that it is not perceptible til! we are near it, the 
mountains being too distant from the shore to be seen 
out at sea. 

This plain, which extends from the borders of 
the sea to the Gatits, is so flat, that the rivers have 
scarcely any current, and even at their mouths are 
so little rapid, that the sea throws up a bar in the 
same manner as in other parts ; thus closing the 
rivers, and leaving the water to filter through the 
sand. In the rainy seasons they swell, rise above 
the bank by which they are closed, and open for 
themselves a passage, which the sea again fills up 
as soon as the body of water is run off. I speak, as 
may be supposed, of small rivers only, and not of 
those which are deep enough to admit ships. 

This want of elevation in the coasts but ill agrees 
with the supposed antiquity of the country. The 
number of rivers, the lakes by which they are sup- 
plied, the soil, that in many places is nothing but 
sand, all seem to indicate, that, at no very remote 
period, it was covered by the ocean. Not the least 
elevation can be discovered till we arrive at Pondi- 
cherry, and thence, to the north of Sadras, only a 
few hills are perceptible, which must have been isl- 
ands when the ocean covered the plain. 

If we consider the shallowness of the gulf which 
separates Ceylon from the coast, and the chain of 
rocks that re-unite them, over which nothing but 
pirogues can now pass, we may venture to affirm. 



52 



VOYAGE IN THE 



without temerity, that in the course of twelve cen- 
turies, Ceylon will be no longer an island, allowing 
to this part of the world the same progressive di- 
minution as we have observed in the Baltic, name- 
ly, forty-five inches to a century. The calculation 
would be just ; for there is only nine fathom water 
in the deepest part of the gulf. By admitting a 
similar anterior diminution in the ocean, it would 
follow, that India is not now as it was in the time of 
Alexander, and that the plain on which Pondicher- 
ry and Madras are built was then under water. 

There are monuments of men existing in this coun* 
fry, however, which bear marks of great antiquity, 
I here anticipate my excursion, in order to present 
facts at variance with the system, that a juster opin- 
ion may be formed. 

In ascending the Godwarin, about nine miles 
above Yanaon, we meet with a small Indian town 
called Cota, the residence of a raja. Hence direct- 
ing our course a little to the eastward, we arrive at 
a considerable Moorish aldee named Datcharom* 
The situation of this place is not elevated ; on the 
contrary it is surrounded with water, and conse- 
quently could not have been freed from the empire 
of the ocean till some ages after the present coast : 
yet in this aldee we find a very beautiful pagoda, 
which must formerly have been a strong place ; it is 
defended by a wide and deep ditch, the degraded 
sides of which, notwithstanding their slope, exhibit 
proofs of antiquity. We arrive at the edifice by 
two bridges. The pagoda, like all others, is built 
in the centre of a vast court, the circuit of which 
struck me with astonishment. The wall is so an- 
cient, that it has three times undergone a thorough 
repair ; the difference of the mason work cannot es- 
cape the eye of an attentive and experienced obser- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



53 



ver ; as a necessary consequence of the injuries of 
time, it has now fallen into ruins. The two upper 
parts of the masonry have nothing remarkable in 
them but their antique appearance ; they are com- 
posed of brick. That which supports them is also 
of brick, but in better condition ; and the Malabar 
style is discernible in two mouldings which time 
has spared : the whole rests on a foundation of 
granite of the greatest beauty, of which the level 
has not given way a single inch. All the founda- 
tion of the western front as well as that of the 
southern, is completely preserved ; the architecture 
is visibly Greek, for the plinth, the swell above it, 
and the astragal, are as correctly displayed as if 
done by an architect of the present day ; the whole 
is completely Iain out by line, and calculated to en- 
gage the attention of a spectator. When we com- 
pare this monument with the pagodas of Chalam- 
barum and lagrenaul, both constructed in the Mal- 
abar taste, and passing for antiquities, it is difficult 
to account for a piece of Greek architecture thus 
appearing in the midst of a country where, no other 
trace of it is to be fosnd, except in European estab- 
lishments, and there even no work of granite of this 
kind exists. I have seen in this country many chau- 
deries and other buildings constructed of a similar 
stone, but they were all of the Malabar or Indian 
architecture, without the smallest Greek vestige pre- 
senting itself. The Moors of Datcharom have the 
highest idea of the antiquity of this pagoda ; it exist- 
ed, they say long before they settled on this spot 
and they have suffered it to remain for the use of 
the Hindoos living with them in the village. Their 
tradition informs them of the erection of the two 
superior pieces of masonry ; but they are ignorant 

E 2 



VOYAGE IN THE 



of the date of the third, and have no idea of the age 
of the foundation on which the whole stands. 

Whoever was the architect that built this monu- 
ment, he must have taken every possible precaution 
to do it with solidity, considering that he had to 
work in the midst of water ; and he succeeded, for 
the building has remained to this day. It is fair to 
presume, that it was erected in times anterior to In- 
dian architecture, as it would otherwise have been 
conformable to the manner of the country. At the 
time of the first repair the Malabar architecture was 
known, for it is done in the Indian style. 

If this was a Greek edifice, as it appears to be, 
how are we to reconcile the remote period of its 
foundation with the recent one, when the sea is 
supposed to have quitted these shores ? The country 
in general is so low, that a tempest is sufficient to 
lay it under water ; and instances of it are not want* 
ing. In the year 1789 all the country of Coringui 
and the neighboring parts were deluged by three 
waves, which a storm raised above the common lev- 
el : the water reached even as far as Yanaon. The 
sea rose above its ordinary limits, and carried a ves- 
sel^ into the plains within three miles of Coringui. 
When these three waves had spent their force, the 
sea returned to its bed, and the waters ran off. An 
event like this proves beyond dispute the trifling el- 
evation of the country, and consequently its late 
existence : how then can it happen, that at Datch- 
arom, in the neighborhood of Coringui, a monument 
should be found bearing every mark of the remotest 
antiquity ? 

If we admit with some geographers, that in the 
early ages of the world the peninsula of India was 
an islaod, which I am far from denying, it must 
* Tbe Greyhound, captain Bourde Delavillaubeit. 



INDIAN OCEAN* 



follow, that the plain, extending from the sea-coast 
to the foot of the Gauts, was still under water at 
that epoch, as it is much lower than the country 
which formed the strait between the then island and 
what at the present day forms the Mjgu!, properly 
so called. On this hypothesis would not the Gauts 
have been the cradle of the Bramins ? It appears 
to me that the affirmative is possible. These moun- 
tains must have existed from the first ages of the 
world : they are primitive, that is to say, granitic : 
they incontestibly form one of the ramifications of 
the chain which constitutes, so to speak, the timber- 
work of the earth : they would seem to end at Cape 
Comorin. But I am not afraid of being taxed with 
exaggeration by those who have made this part of 
the globe their study, when I affirm, that to me 
they do not appear to terminate till they reach the 
island of St. Paul to the southward of the Mauritius 
and the isle of Bourbon ; and the only reason why 
we do not see them rise again between the island of 
St. Paul and the Pole, is, that the ice has prevent- 
ed us from penetrating so far, or that the mountains 
which continue this chain are not sufficiently eleva- 
ted to appear above the surface of the sea. It is 
this same chain which, plunging under the waves, 
re-appears at intervals, and shows the peaks of its 
mountains, of which the summits form the isles of 
France, Bourbon, Rodrigues, and the vast archipe- 
lago, hitherto so little explored, which covers the 
sea between those islands and the Maldives*. The 
Maldives, the Laccadives, and even Ceylon, are also 
a continuation of this chain : of Ceylon, however, 
I speak from conjecture only, as I have not observ- 
ed it. The mountains of the coast which I have 
visited are all calcareous ; but 1 conceive that the 
middle chaiu of the island is granitic. In short, if 



56 



VOYAGE IN THE 



we admit the principle, now considered as indispu- 
table, of the successive retreat of the ocean, we must 
necessarily infer, that in the course of a considera- 
ble number of ages the Mauritius and the Isle of 
Bourbon wil! terminate Asia to the southward. 

This opinion is very far from being hypothetical. 
These two islands are already nearly joined to the 
continent. Their archipelago and that of the Mal- 
dives are nothing more than a continued mass of 
mountains connected together under the water at 
no great depth, between which the sea still preserves 
its channels. In a word, to the eye of a philoso- 
phei this continent h already exposed to view : the 
plains alone remain submerged ; and even these 
perhaps waif only for the epoch, when the slow 
and gradual retreat" of the fluid element shall leave 
them dry, to rise from the bosom of the ocean ; or 
they may be indebted for their existence to some 
volcanic explosion. So great a space cannot be en- 
tirely without pyrites : the isle of Bourbon burns al- 
ready ; and it is to be presumed, that the water, ef- 
fecting at last a passage to those contained in the 
bowels of the earth that still supports the yoke of 
the ocean, some explosion will result, and produce 
either the wreck of the existing islands or the for- 
mation of new countries : we ought rather to incline 
to the latter hypothesis, as the existing mountains 
form together such amass of granite, that the explo- 
sion would more easily throw up the bottom of the 
sea to its surface, than shake and swallow up so 
great a body, the resistance of which is augmented 
by its adhesion to what is near it, and by the union 
of all the parts of which it is constituted. 

But to. return to my voyage. 

On arriving before Pondicherry the eye is shock- 
ed with the ruins that present themselves. The 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



57 



church and the capuchin convent, destroyed during 
the siege of M. de Bellcombe, have not been repair- 
ed ; many other houses on the sea shore, to the 
eastward, in like manner destroyed, are a heap of 
ruins ; and the whole exhibits a mournful and sick- 
ening spectacle. But when we are landed the scene 
changes. As we enter the place of arms we are 
struck with its grandeur ; the governor's palace adds 
to its beauty, and gives it a noble appearance ; and 
if every thing corresponded with this beginning, 
Pondicherry would be the finest town in India. 

It is divided into two parts, the Black Town and 
the White Town : the latter spreads along the sea- 
coast, and is again divided into two parts, the north 
and south. The tower bearing the flagstaff is in 
the middle, and separates the two quarters* 

The Black Town is separated from the White by 
a ditch running through the whole extent of Pon- 
dicherry. It reaches to the ramparts, and contains 
a population of nearly eighty thousand souls, and a 
cathedral belonging to a convent of Flench Jesuits, 
the bishop of which belongs to that society. This 
church, newly built in the modern taste, is the oniy 
one in India that is tolerable. 

The White town is very inconsiderable. Its 
length comprehends the whole front of the place on 
the sea-shore ; but its width from the shore to the 
ditch, which separates it from the Black Town, is not 
more than three hundred toises. This space is fill- 
ed with handsome houses, but few of them are more 
than one story high : it contains a parish-church, 
the duty of which is done by the capuchins of the 
French mission. 

The streets, as in every other part of India, are 
without pavement, and are most of them nothing 
but sand. As the houses are all white-washed, it 



58 VOYAGE IN THE 

is extremely disagreeable to walk there during; the 
heat of the day, on account of the reverberation. 
To remedy this inconvenience, it is customary to 
be carried ; and the pay of servants is so little, that 
almost every person has the means of hiring a palan- 
quin and carriers. So many travellers have written 
on this subject, that I shall not enter into particulars : 
the reader may consult Sonnerat, Niebuhr, and oth- 
ers. The short details I shall give are those of 
which the authors who have preceded me have not 
deigned to speak* 

A captain or traveller finds, immediately on land- 
ing, it he has money, every thing necessary for his 
accommodation in the country, without any other 
trouble than that cf choosing. This is all compris- 
ed in the person of a dobachi. The crowd of these 
people is prodigious : they are followed by a num- 
ber of boys, and form a rabble which it is difficult 
to get rid of. The moment you land from the eh el* 
ingue they beset you on all sides. Some seize up- 
on your luggage, others present you with certificates 
of faithful services to captains or individuals in pri- 
vate situations who have employed them, and each 
seems to claim a right to the possession of the new- 
comer, to the exclusion of the rest : those who 
have the articles of luggage make a parade of them, 
and range themselves near the stranger with an air 
of satisfaction. If he seems to distinguish any one 
in particular, a dispute instantly takes place, and an 
uproar is raised, which the beating of the sea against 
the bar tends to augment A traveller, landing on 
the coast of India for the first time, is at a loss how 
to act. At every step he takes, to proceed towards 
the town, an hundred arms are stretched forth with 
certificates to oblige him to choose. In proportion 
as his embarrassment increases, the Blacks^ who per* 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



59 



ceive be is a novice, become importunate : at length 
quite tired out, he makes a choice, and instantly the 
mob disperse. The dobachi chosen is generally the 
fir?t domestic of a rich man : sent by his master, 
he immediately falls upon the multitude with his 
cane, seizes, in the most brutal manner, on the ef- 
fects which the traveller has landed, places some 
subaltern servants to clear the way through the 
crowd, brings the stranger to a palanquin, and takes 
bim off as his prey to any inn he may think proper. 
The dobachi in chief then comes to pav his res- 
pects ; and, in the course of the day, the new comer is 
furnished with a house, goods, servants of every de- 
scription, and a well supplied kitchen ; in a word, 
every thing is provided without giving him the trou- 
ble even to express a wish ; for often he is ignorant 
of the customs to which it is necessary to conform. 
The dobachi takes possession of the money, mer- 
chandise, and every thing belonging to his master's 
affairs : the former is put into the hands of a cash- 
ier called a seraff. The profit which the dobachi 
derives from this money enables him to defray his 
master's expenses ; it is also customary, it you do a 
great deal of business, for him to make all payments 
during your stay in the country. 

There are servants for every purpose. The four 
principal casts of India are subdivided into many 
small ones ; and these different subdivisions are 
governed by prejudices that will not permit them 
to engage alike in ignoble occupations. AH their 
services have different shades ; and the gradation of 
those who have to perform them is very distinct. 
The lowest casts are the scavengers and the sweep- 
ers, called taligarchi. The shoemakers follow next, 
and are extremely abased by opinion ; then the do- 
mestics, placed near the master for his personal 



60 



VOYAGE IN THE 



wants, such as washing his feet and buckling his 
shoes, the carriers, and those who hold the parasol ; 
and next the barber, the nose and ear cleaner, and 
the nail cutter. These people refine on every thing 
capable of producing agreeable sensations. I never 
found any thing more pleasant than having my ears 
cleaned by a Black of Pondicherry : they finish the 
operation by introducing a small piece of steel, 
which they cause to vibrate by a gentle movement 
of the fingers, the sonorous noise occasioned by 
which, produces a delicious tremor. After this 
■servant comes the hair dresser, then the masser* 
Massing is also a sensation which these people know 
how to produce. 

After living some time in the climate of India, 
we are exhausted by perspiration ; the great heat 
occasions lassitude, we are scarcely able to move 
about, the humors have no circulation, and the blood 
becomes thick; we feel heavy, are oppressed with 
an inclination to sleep, and fall into a state of apathy, 
which terminates in some malady, and often in ul- 
cers. The baths are not always sufficient to res- 
tore the benumbed fibres to their wonted tone : but 
all these accidents are prevented by undergoing the 
operation of massing. We accustom ourselves to 
it by degrees, beginning gently at first : but after 
five or six months is used more vigorously. The 
person on whom the operation is perforaied lies on 
a bed ; a servant kneads him all over like a piece 
of soft dough, taking care to dwell particularly on 
the muscles of the arms, legs, &c. 

The use of this ceremony is to make the blood 
and humours circulate freely ; it produces an agree- 
able sleep ; after which we rise active and ninxhie, 
without inconvenience, pain, numbness, or head* 
ache* 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



61 



Next to the masser comes the valet'de-chambre^ 
and then the person who has the care of the clothes,' 
linen, &c. When a valet de-chambre gives his 
master a shirt, the writer gravely sets it down in the 
account, shuts the trunk, takes the key tff it with 
great importance, and adds it to a bunch which he 
proudly carries on one shoulder : the larger is the 
size of this bunch of keys, of so much the greater 
importance does the servant think himself. 

After him comes the hooka-hadar, who prepares 
the hooka, and presents it to his master when he 
wishes to smoke. A description of this instrument 
has been given in the works of almost all travellers 
in this country. The grand merit of an hooka-ba- 
dar is to assist his master when he smokes in his pa- 
lanquin or on horseback; for which purpose he 
must carry the bottle and a chafing dish, while his 
master holds the end of the serpentine tube. In 
this manner he keeps up with the bearers of the pa- 
lanquin, or the horse, without the least inconven- 
ience : the fire, the tobacco, the water, are all car- 
ried with so much precaution, that a person smokes 
commodiously as in an apartment. 

After the hooka badar comes the pion or soldier. 
This personage is of the Moorish cast, and is some- 
times valiant, often quarrelsome, and always proud 
of his post. He wears a bandoleer or shoulder-belt, 
with a plate of silver, on which are engraved the arms 
or ciphers of the person in whose service he is. His 
employment is to execute little commissions, and 
accompany his master when he goes out ; he is 
armed either with a sabre or pike, and runs before 
the palanquin, driving away the crowd, and crying 
incessantly, in the Moorish tongue, to clear the road. 
The number of pions is increased according to the 
luxury intended to be displayed. A tradesman has 



62 



VOYAGE IN THE 



usually two ; while those who in any way belong to 
government have four or five. A tradesman, borne 
rapidly along in his palanquin, preceded by his 
pioiis and four carriers in relay, accompanied by his 
hooka-badar and umbrella- holder, followed by wait- 
ers and writers who never quit him, making; a great 
noise and upsetting the crowd on their passage, has 
no longer the appearance, in the eyes of a new com- 
er, of a person in this station of life, but would rath- 
er be taken for some rich and powerful nobleman. 

The next most important personage is the porter. 
This man thinks himself invested with a great 
charge : it is true he guards the door with so scru- 
pulous an attention, that he frequently stops the 
servants of the house wheji they are going out with 
a parcel, unless they give him the countersign to let 
them pass. 

To these must be added the cook and his assist- 
ants ; the compradore, whose business is to pur- 
chase provisions ; the butler and steward, and the 
person who waits at table, which complete the 
crowd of domestics attached to the immediate ser- 
vice of a man moderately rich. 

After a host like this one would imagine the list 
must be finished : but no ; there are besides, the 
dobachi in chief, and three or four upper servants, 
as many subaltern writers, and a multitude of young 
Indians belonging to him, to learn the trade, and 
who form together a very considerable retinue. 
The dobachi enters alone into the chamber or closet 
of the master, followed by a writer to take orders, 
make notes, or present accounts. As this man has 
the management of every thing, an European mer- 
chant has only to inspect his proceedings and make 
known his wishes. This little morning audience 
over, he is dismissed, and the house remains crowd- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



63 



ed with his suite : they take possession of every 
corner, and, sitting on the ground, are employed in 
writing, observing all the while so profound a silence, 
that the master to be heard, has only to clap his 
hands softly in his apartment, and instantly the whole 
troop is in- motion. In paying a morning-visit, it 
becomes a study how to be able to make way in the 
anticbamber, or hall, through the midst of all these 
writers, surrounded with their papers, without tread- 
ing some of them under foot. The Indians begin 
to write on silk paper, which they procure from 
China. In general, it sucks up a great deal of ink ; 
but they have not yet adopted the custom of mak- 
ing their books of this paper. They commonly 
write on the fan-palm leaf, using for the purpose an 
iron bodkin, which they move with the right hand, 
and conduct with the thumb nail of the left, holding 
the leaf in the hand without resting it. When they 
wish to make a book, they cut a number of leaves 
of the same length, make holes in them at each end, 
and file thern : to the cords two thin boards, wider 
and longer than the leaves, are fastened, and which 
serve to preserve them. They shut the book, and 
fasten it by drawing the cords tight : there are books 
of this kind extremely voluminous. 

The Moors and Malabars have different charac- 
ters. The Moorish language is derived from the 
Persian, of which it has taken the alphabet This 
language is much used in every part of Asia, China 
excepted. The soldiers and sailors all speak it. 

The Malabar language is that of the country ; it 
has its particular characters. The study of it is by 
no means disagreeable ; and it has literary works 
numerous enough to afford any one, who is desirous 
of instructing himself, sufficient reading. 

But again, for every thing relating to the Ian- 



64 



VOYAGE IN THE 



guages, customs, and religion of India, I refer to 
Sonnerat. It is difficult after this author to say 
any thing new. AH that can be done is to indicate 
the facts, in order to put the reader in the right 
road. 

I shdi not treat of the different casts, that object 
being so well known as to render it unnecessary ; 
but to those with which we are acquainted, there is a 
new one to be added, that increases considerably, 
and perhaps will end one day in overrunning all the 
rest, the Bramins excepted, 

.This is the cast produced by the alliance of Eu- 
ropeans with the natives of every other cast. The 
first unions of this kind were formed by the Portu- 
guese at the time of their brilliant conquests. The 
race has taken their name, and is known by it. 
This Portuguese filiation has not always continued 
white ; some branches are again become black, 
while others have so nearly approached the Euro- 
pean complexion, as at first sight not to be-known ; 
which is the less surprising, as the Indians, with the 
exception of colour, have nothing in their features 
to distinguish them from European*. I shall take 
this opportunity to say a few words on the different 
people I have seen on the globe. 

AH men are indisputably of one species, as they 
can all procreate together ; but the races are visibly 
different I have observed four distinct ones which 
subdivided into several branches. The first race 
is that of Europe and Asia : it appears to be demon- 
strated that the origin is the same, whatever be the 
colour which varies it. 

This colour becomes deeper in proportion as it 
approaches the equator, which to me is a proof, 
that it is owing to the climate. I will admit the 
black net-work found by anatomists between the 



INDIAN OCEAN. 6§ 

skin and the epidermis of a negro ; I will even ad- 
mit thai the same particularity is also met with in a 
black of Asia, that is, in an Indian of the low cast ; 
for it cannot belong to the race of the Bramins, 
whose colour is a pale yellow, a little less dark than 
that of (he Mufattoes, and of a fresher hue. 

But even allowing, that this network is found in 
an Indian, I should not the less be inclined to con- 
clude that the climate had alone produced it, and 
that by a higher latitude it would be dispersed in a 
few generations, even without intercourse with the 
whites. The Blacks, moreover, I mean those that are 
absolutely so, are not very numerous in Asia. Few 
are found except in the peninsula of India, at Pegu, 
and in the islands ; for as soon a3 we reach the lati- 
tude of twenty degrees, the species begins to assume 
a clearer teint. In other respects, the features are 
the same as ours. The leading ones are moderate- 
ly thick lips, protuberant nose, long eyes, soft long 
hair, and a beard. 

This race in Europe takes three very distinct 
shades, that of the east, that of the west, and the 
Laplanders. The first have preserved something 
of the Greek countenance, which is not so much al- 
tered but it may be recognized. In Asia, the prin- 
cipal shades are those of the Whites, the Bramins 
and the copper coloured, the Blacks and the Chi- 
nese. The most striking features of the latter are, 
the nose less protuberant, the eyes small and placed 
obliquely. All these sub-divisions are, in my opin- 
ion, of one common origin ; the climate alone has 
imprinted on them the difference by which they are 
characterized. 

The second race is that of Africa. This is per- 
fectly distinct, and must have had a different origin. 
Its principal characters are generally a black com- 
F 2 



66 



VOYAGE IN' THE 



plexion without polish, the nose flat and broad, with 
little projectioo, round eyes, thick lips, and curling 
woolly hair aud beard. There has been only one 
sub division of this race hitherto discovered, which 
is that of the Hottentots, who are of a colour less 
deep, and nho have individuals among them inclin- 
ing in some degree to a copper-coUH^ ; but in oth- 
er respects the characteristics are the same. The 
curly wool, in particular, appears to be the princi- 
pal attribute of the African race. A celebrated 
writer of our own time has asserted, that the cradle 
of the human race was in the flat part of Tartary. 
I shall not contest this origin of the Europeans and 
Asiatics, for I am persuaded they have sprung from 
a common stock ; but I cannot so readily believe, 
that Africa owes its population to the same source. 
The Isthmus of Suez has visibly served as a bed 
for the sfca, in times when Africa could not have 
been unpeopled. That great island must have had 
a race peculiar to itself in ages when navigation was 
too little known for us to suppose, that men could 
have been dispersed over the globe by means of their 
ships. We will admit, with some authors, that the 
primitive inhabitants were enabled to descend from 
Caucasus, and spread themselves over the plains in 
proportion as they were left dry. But we have no 
reason to refuse a similar means of population to Af- 
rica who might also have had her Caucasus, whence 
the source of the African race derived its birth. 
We are not sufficiently acquainted with that part of 
the world to form solid conjectures respecting it, 
but are obliged to confine our observations to the 
race of men that inhabit it. This race is certainly 
different from ours. The origin cannot possibly 
be the same ; to prove it so, it would be necessary 
that an African family, transported into Europe? 



INDIAN OCEAN". 



67 



should assume, without mixing with the race of Eu- 
rope, European features, that the hair should be- 
come straight, &c. ; and so of a European family 
transported into Africa. 

We do not find however that the hair of the 
Creoles of the Cape of Good Hope, whose families 
have lived three or four generations in the country, 
becomes changed into wool. This wool is so 
strongly impressed on the African race, that even 
when they intermix with Europeans, it is the last 
characteristic that disappears. It clings so closely 
to the race, it distinguishes them so perfectly from 
all others, that even in thirty-four degrees of lati- 
tude it loses nothing of its force ; it is still the^ame 
wool. This peculiarity so completely belongs to 
Africa, that it confines itself within her limits, and 
does not pass beyond them. The Spaniards, sep- 
arated by a strait of only one-and- twenty miles, 
have long shining hair. The Arabs too, who bor- 
der on Africa, who are merely divided by the 
straits of Babelmandel, have in like manner all long 
hair. When the marks are so distinct, how is it 
possible not to acknowledge that the origin is dif- 
ferent^ ? 

# I know that Mr. Bruce says. Vol. 1 - page 172, that the Keil- 
noufs, a people inhabiting the banks of the Nile beyond the 
second cataract of Nub'a, have hair, not wool ; bin he d ; d not 
inquire whether the colony is indigenous, or whether it came 
from Asia. All the country, as we know, is over-run with 
Arabs ; and there is no reason for refusing to believe that the 
Kennoufs are of Arabian origin ; so that this fac', which the 
author's reputation does not permit us to doubt, proves nothing 
against our system. 

The same traveller assures us, page 342. that the inhabitants 
to the southward of Cape Hell, between Yemen and the states 
of the seherif of Mecca, have wool instead of hair, This also 
does not subvert what 1 have advanced : to overcome my opin- 
ion, individuals with woolly hair musi be found all over the earth, 
intermingled with others that "have long hair • but while I see 



68 



VOYAGE Iff THE 



The third race is principally found towards Da- 
ne n, but its individuals are much less numerous. 
These are the Albinos, who are chiefly distinguish- 
ed by the dead whiteness of their skin, by flax in- 
stead of hair on their heads, and by little round eyes 
incapable of supporting the light of day. 

It would not be easy to decide on the origin of 
these miserable beings, to whom nature has refused 
so much. She has endowed them, it is true, with 
the faculty of thinking and speaking ; but the latter 
quality is so imperfect among them, that it rather 
resembles a murmur than an articulation : even at a 
short distance the movement of their lips is all that 
can be perceived : no sound reaches the ear, unless 
we are near enough to touch them. 

As to their faculty of thinking, if we may judge 
from their indolent mode of life resulting perhaps 
from a sei^se of their weakness, it is by no means 
profound : indeed, reflecting on such actions of 
theirs with which we are acquainted, we are forced 
to admit, that they have no more reason than is 
barely sufficient to enable them to avoid what is in- 
jurious. 

them confined to a small distinct colony, I consider the circum- 
stance as a new proof in my favor, and infer, that they have a 
different origin from the inhabitants of the country in the midst 
of whom thev are encompassed. On the coast of Arabia we 
meet with Abissinians at every step. Is the inestimable author 
I have mentioned sure, that the canton of Cape Heli may not 
have given an asylum to an emigration from Abyssinia either 
during the wars for the establishment of Mahometanism, or be- 
fore that period ? His observations, though generally admirable, 
require perhaps sometimes to be examined closely ; for it is pos- 
sible he may have relied on a bad compiler, for the care of put- 
ting his notes in order. Ought we not, for instance, to place 
in the rank of doubtful observations that which leads him to give 
24 d. 45 s north as the latitude of Syenne, which is close to the 
spot where Pliny and Strabo say the well was dug directly under 
the tropic- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



69 



This unhappy race t weak and defenceless, no 
longer consists, but of a few scattered individuals, 
escaped from wild beasts and men, by whom they 
have been hunted. Some of them have arrived 
among us ; and, if we were rash enough to form a 
judgment of nature by such specimens, we must 
suppose, that she had only thrown a few of this race 
vaguely on the globe, without permitting them to 
form a colony of their own : at least, the utmost en- 
deavors of travellers have never been able to discov- 
er one. A few of these wretched beings, of both 
sexes, have been met with on the coast, where they 
appeared to live on fish, and have been supposed, 
unjustly perhaps, to possess scarcely more intellect 
than the oysters which they tear from the rocks. 

If this race of men was ever numerous, it has al- 
most entirely disappeared ; for there now exists no 
more instances than is just sufficient to preserve the 
remembrance of it : it is, besides, too little known 
for it to be determined, whether it has etrvy sub-di- 
visions, or even for us to say any thing positive re- 
specting it. 

It has been imagined, that the physical and mor- 
al state of these beings was occasioned by sickness ; 
some have even thought, that it was the appearance 
of the disorder itself : but these are merely conjec- 
tures ; and we ought to consider them as a distinct 
race, till we have acquired information that may do 
away all doubt on the subject. 

The fourth race is that of America. A people, 
spreading under a sky so varied as to comprehend 
all the zones, must be supposed to have numerous 
subdivisions ; and in reality they extend almost to 
infinity : but, with the exception of a few hordes of 
savages to the northward, they are principally dis- 
tinguished by having no beard. 



70 



VOYAGE IN THE 



This mark is as striking and indelible a3 the wool 
of the Africans ; and it appears to me as uiconfesta- 
bly to prove, that their origin is different from ours. 

The newness of this continent dees not seem to 
me an undeniable proof, that its inhabitants came 
from What is called the old world : the plains alone 
have the appearance of being recently freed from 
the waters of the ocean ; but there is nothing to in- 
duce us to believe, that the mountains should have 
been submerged when ours were dry. If the Pi- 
chincha and the Chimhorazo bear evident marks of 
the residence of the ocean in their most elevated 
peaks, our Alps present the same testimonials ; and 
to me it seems reasonable to believe, that the moun- 
tains of America were the secret residence of the 
first individuals of the American race ; as Caucasus, 
perhaps Atlas, and other mountains, have been the 
birth-place of the different races which now people 
Europe and Africa. In a word, the harr and beard 
are, in my opinion, marks by which Nature has sep- 
arated the three grand divisions of the inhabitants of 
the earth (for the Albinos are so few in number, 
that I can hardly consider them with the others ;) 
the livery which she has ordained them to wear is 
not to be effaced ; it has subsisted from their origin, 
and will be an eternal monument to attest the differ- 
ence of the sources whence they have derived their 
existence. 

From the system of which I have drawn the out- 
lines, it is not surprising that the Portuguese race, 
by intermarriages, should be so perfectly assimilated 
with that of India, as, in the course of several gen- 
erations, to be no longer distinguished. 

Among the ladies of Pondicherry, there are few 
that can boast of a white origin without mixture. 
If the filiation were in all instances transmitted by 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



71 



(he whites, each branch of a family being of the 
same degree of fairness, the inconvenience would 
be small. But it will happen, that of two sisters, 
one will have married a Portuguese or some other 
White, and the other a Negro ; and the second 
cousins may thus be some very white and others 
very black. The Whites may arrive at a consider- 
able fortune, and the others remain in a state of ser- 
vitude. This happens every day ; and, as an ex- 
ample of it, I shall mention a person in office, a 
man of estimable character, who having espoused 
a woman of equal rank, but whose father was of 
the party-coioured tribe, was the first to jest upon 
the subject ; and he did it so freely that it was a fre- 
quent cause of domestic quarrel. One of his pleas- 
antries was, that he was fearful of correcting his 
servants, when they committed a fault, and that he 
always spoke to them civiily, from the idea, that 
among them might be some cousiu-german of his 
wife. 

I knew but two families in Pondicherry of per- 
fectly pure blood ; the children of the one were 
two sons who bad married women of the country ; 
the others had daughters only, who cannot perpetu- 
ate their name ; so that in twenty years Pondicher- 
ry can boast but of a single family whose European 
filiation can be proved without mixture. These al- 
liances are become so common, the portion of in- 
habitants known by the name of the Portuguese cast 
is at present so consideiable, and continues to in- 
crease with such rapidity, that, by aid of the mis- 
sionaries, it will eventually terminate, to all appear- 
ance, in over-running the other casts, with the ex- 
ception of the Bramins, who are scrupulously at- 
tentive not only to prevent alliances with strangers, 
but also to avoid communication with them ; and 



72 



VOYAGE IN THE 



so far do they carry this, as even to break the vases, 
in which, by the laws of hospitality, they have giv- 
en them to drink, when occasion had demanded it. 

Ever remember, they say to their children from 
their infancy, that you are born to command other 
men. This lesson is repeated every day, and con- 
tributes perhaps as much as any thing else to gen- 
erate in them the idea they entertain of their supe- 
riority over every other cast. 

Be this as it may, the Bramins are in possession 
of eminent employments, great wealth, and un- 
bounded esteem. They were probably indebted 
for this ascendancy at first to their physical powers 
and their arms, and they preserved it by their vir- 
tues and understanding. The consideration they 
still enjoy rests on a similar foundation, the knowl- 
edge they possess. It is certainly from the opinion 
which is formed of their virtue and sagacity, that 
they are placed in the first rank ; but this is a matter 
of opinion only, and the first re volution in princi- 
ples may do away the supremacy. They have al- 
ready lost their physical superiority : their cast, like 
all the human race, is fallen off from the vigor 
which the first men must have possessed ; the con- 
sideration resulting from arms has gone from them 
to the Moors, by whom they have been conquered. 
If any thing can maintain them in their present ele- 
vated rank, it is their secret as to their primitive 
language, their mysteries, the books of their religion, 
the knowledge derived from them, and more than 
all, perhaps, the privilege of being immediately 
charged with the ceremonies of worship, the altars, 
and the gods. 

These altars are contained in small temples, call- 
ed pagodas* Some of these edifices are very con- 
siderable, and cover a great extent of ground ; but 



INDIAN" OCEAN, 



73 



It is by means of the adjacent buildings, the towers 
constructed oyer the gates, and the surrounding ob- 
jects of the court, that the temples have so grand 
an appearance. The pagoda itself is a small edi- 
fice not capable of containing more than an hun- 
dred persons : it is generally situated in the middle 
of the court : the idol is placed on a little pedestal, 
ornamented with flowers, exposed to the veneration 
of the people. They burn before the image of the 
god a great quantity of cocoa-oil in a multitude of 
small lamps ; they present it with offerings of fruits, 
milk, grain, oil, and flowers ; at each offering a 
number of little bells, fastened to a machine of wood 
in the form of a triangle are rung ; this noise is 
agreeable both to the god and the multitude ; and 
whoever by his present has merited the favor of the 
bells, pays for it a sum of money for the benefit of 
the Bramins. 

On this subject no one has written with more ac- 
curacy than Sonnerat ; I have traversed the coun- 
try with his book in my hand, and have verified his 
accounts. I shall therefore avoid entering deeply 
into this subject after him, but shall refer those who 
wish for details on what relates to religion, the ima- 
ges that are adored, and the different emblems by 
which the different incarnations of Brama and the 
other divinities are represented, to the work itself. 

Wisdom is worshipped under the image of a cow: 
we find this image in all the pagodas, placed on a 
large pedestal in the middle of the court ; we meet 
with it also on the highways, where several roads 
meet, in a small nook cut in one of the extremities. 
The Indians pay particular devotion to this goddess, 
whose excrement they hold in great veneration : it 
has the property of keeping off insects ; and those, 
therefore, w ho observe the rites by which the ani- 
G 



74 



VOYAGE IN THE 



urn! is adored, wash the interior of their houses with 
an infusion of cow* dung. They also plaster the walls 
on the outside with it, so that the Malabar houses in 
general are agreeable neither to the sight nor the 
smell. 

Of their religious principles I shall mention one 
only, which is interesting to travellers. 

Hospitality is a virtue which their religion par- 
ticularly recommends ; and, on that account, a per- 
son on a journey is considered by them as a sacred 
object. There are indeed instances of individuals 
having been murdered for the sake of plunder : but 
this is not the fault of the dogma. In every part 
of the world men are to be found daring enough 
to despise all precepts ; and though a few robbers 
here have violated this law of hospitality, it is in 
general strictly observed. A traveller is not only 
received with kindness, but his wants on the road 
are anticipated. Chauderies, which are places near- 
ly similar to caravansaries, are built, in which he 
may enter freely, lodge, dress his provisions, if he 
has any, and depart without paying any thing. The 
hospitality would certainly be greater if the poor 
traveller could find also something to eat; but a gratu- 
itous asylum, in a country where the chief want is 
shelter from the inclemency of the climate, is at 
least a considerable accommodation. 

These chauderies are sometimes very large ; they 
are attended by a man whose business it is to sweep 
and keep them clean. A traveller arrives, and with- 
out ceremony takes possession of the house ; for 
the moment it ip a manner belongs to him. Anoth- 
er comes, the first makes room for him, and the 
new-comer, without saying a word, fixes himself 
wherever be pleases. The same rule is observed 
till the chauderie is full. When the heat has sub* 



INDIAN* OCEAN. 



75 



sided, they proceed on their way, and gain the next 
halting place. In the evening each lies down to 
sleep, the Indians without order or distinction : if 
an European be present, they have the complaisance 
to leave him a little corner to himself. Though 
hospitality be a point of religion among them, yet, 
to avoid the inconvenience it might occasion, par- 
ticularly on commercial roads, they erect chaude- 
ries in their aldees or villages, and by that means are 
free from the visits of travellers, who never think 
of addressing themselves to the inhabitants when 
they can find a public-house ; it is even possible, if 
they were to do so, they would in that case not be 
received. Independently of these chauderies in the 
villages or near them, there are others at regular 
distances on the roads in the country, far from any 
other habitation. The traveller, parched by an ar- 
dent sun, or assailed by a storm in the midst of an 
immense plain, and deprived of every other re- 
source, thus finds, through the country he has to 
pass, a gratuitous shelter from the injuries of the 
weather and climate. If water should not be abun- 
dant in the neighborhood, they are careful to dig 
large ponds, in which men and animals may bathe 
and quench thetr thirst. 

The establishment of these chauderies is not only 
a principle^ of religion, but is even a mode of atone- 
ment for sins. The rich are all anxious to have 
them built wherever they suppose them to be nec- 
essary. A conciissionaire, or placeman, who has 
made ill use of his authority, and acquired great 
riches by illicit means, expects, by building such 
establishments, to obtain forgiveness. To do good 
to travellers is to render himself agreeable to the 
Divinity ; and a man like this, loaded with crimes, 
will die in tranquillity, persuaded that he should en- 



76 



VOYAGE IN THE 



joy eternal felicity in the bosom of Brama, if he has 
erected two or three chauderies. A very consid- 
erable number of these buildings is found in the 
neighborhood of great towns, divided into apart- 
ments or cells, in which every traveller may be 
lodged separately ; and some even have an adjoin- 
ing house, better arranged, for the accommodation 
of persons of distinction ; but in the country they 
are nothing more in general than paved squares^ 
; surrounded by walls on three sides* the front re-, 
mainingopen : when the building is large, the front 
is ornamented with two or three columns to support 
the top. 

These small chauderies have a strange peculiari- 
ty, respecting the motive of which I could never 
obtain ■ 'She least information* The inside of all of 
them* or at least of nearly '-all,' is lined with bass-re- 
liefs from top to bottom ; the walls, roof, column 
and pavement, are covered with rude pieces of 
sculpture, representing the most obscene objects, 
and forming pictures, of the most disgusting lewd- 
ness. If building such edifices be a precept of their 
religion, it is difficult to believe that it prescribes so 
indecent a decoration. 

The dogma of Brama is not without dissentients. 
t Some worship Chiven, or the bad principle ; but 
whatever be the sect they follow, they have only 
one manner of rendering homage to the Divinity. 

The worshipper prostrates himself, and makes 
his offering in silence ; the priests receive it ; and 
when he pays generously, they apply to his arms 
and forehead a powder of either a red, white, black, 
or yellow colour, and sometimes all four. The man- 
ner of applying them varies according to the sect : 
those of the ritual of Chiven have three upright 
streaks in the form of a trident, to others they are 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



77 



applied cross- ways, without shape, and at random, 
while many have only a patch of this mastich, stuck 
on with cocoa-oil, with which the skin has been 
previously rubbed. Thus, however white may be 
his robe, and whatever pains he may take to keep 
himself clean, it is impossible not to feel disgusted 
when we see a Malabar newly daubed at his pagoda 
with this masticb, which looks as if he had first 
grinded it between his teeth, and had then smeared 
his face all over with it. To give a finishing stroke 
to the picture, let us figure to ourselves a mouth 
stuffed with beet root, which, every time it opens, 
appears as if vomiting blood : such is the sight, tru- 
ly hideous, I have been describing. 

If their private devotion be silent, their solemni- 
ties are extremely nosiy. Almost every people 
have introduced singing among their religious cere- 
monies : some have adopted dancing. The Chris- 
tians of the primitive church danced on holidays ; 
and the bishops themselves conducted the perform- 
ance. The Jews danced before the ark ; they had 
danced also before the golden calf. Whether dan- 
cing was a peculiarity of their worship, w hich they 
brought from Egypt, or whether this petty nation, 
of so little consequence as to have no customs of her 
own, borrowed it from her conquerors in the time of 
her captivity, it is certain, that at very remote pe- 
riods, dancing was introduced into the religious cer- 
emonies of several people of Asia. 

This custom has not been hht in India, but con- 
tinues to this day. The dancers, which the Portu- 
guese have named halliaderes 3 are kept at the ex- 
pense of the pagoda for the purpose of dancing at the 
solemnities : they administer also to the pleasures 
of the chiefs of the sect, who dispose of ihern as they 
please. These women have obtained great reputa- 
G 2 



78 



VOYAGE m THE 



tion by the accounts that have been given of them 
by travellers ; but they appeared to me far beneath 
what has been said in their praise. Some of them, 
it must be acknowledged, are tolerably handsome : 
but their dance is by no means so engaging and vo- 
luptuous as has been described ; and their manner 
of ornamenting themselves, which has made so much 
noise, has nothing captivating in it, except the cus- 
tom of painting a large black circle round the eyes. 
However ridiculous this may appear, it has certainly 
a very good effect on their figure, and gives to their 
look an incredible vivacity. Their head dress is an 
ourgandi, commonly of rose-colour, blue or brown 3 
and frequently embroidered with gold sprigs. 
Their clothing is rich, but without taste: and 
though they are sometimes alluringly dressed, they 
are never graceful. Their heads are covered with 
gold trinkets ; the nose has a large ring, which they 
are obliged to lay aside when they eat ; and their 
ears are frightfully loaded with an incredible num- 
ber of rings of every description. This last dec« 
#ration is not peculiar, but belongs to them in com- 
mon with all the Indian women. Their ears are 
pierced when young with a punch, and a spring is 
placed in the hole, serving gradually to enlarge it 
The cartilage at length is so much dilated, that it is 
by no means uncommon to see a wooden spring, 
in shape like the spring of the watch, and of the di- 
ameter of a crown-piece, in the ears of a female, 
When they wish to be full dressed, they take out 
the spring, and put id its place as many trinkets as 
the aperture will admit. I have seen the ear so 
prodigiously loaded, that I was astonished the cartil- 
age did not break, and am still at a loss to conceive 
how it could bear so considerable a weight. 

The balliaderes enjoy a sort of consideration and 



INDIAN OCEANS 



79 



some honours among the multitude. As to the pre- 
cedence they obtain, it is only in the interior of the 
pagoda, from their office placing them near the idol, 
before which they dance. 

There have been some among them, who, not- 
withstanding the difficulty of gaining access to them, 
have strongly excited the passions of certain Europe- 
ans ; and hence has arisen their reputation for beau- 
ty. For myself, I hesitate not to place them far be- 
neath the female Bramins, who are of a much whiter 
colour (for some of the balliaderes are completely 
black,) of a better look, more fresh, more plump ; 
in a word, these were in my eyes desirable objects, 
while the balliaderes never made the least impres- 
sion on my senses, even when aided by the illusion 
of dancing. By the by, as every thing coming from 
afar is apt to appear wonderful to the imagination, 
it may not be amiss to inform the reader, that though 
the word dancing is applied alike to the mounte- 
banks of India, and the nymphs of the opera at Pa- 
ris, they are nevertheless very far from resembling 
each other, not only as to grace and talent in gen- 
eral, but even as to the particular species of talent 
belonging to the profession. 

The dance of these women is a cadenced move- 
ment, executed to the ^ound of a drum, which a 
Black beats with his fingers, and which he accom- 
panies with a song, that, to ears of the least delica- 
cy, would seem barbarous. The mode of beating 
time is with a small bell or cymbal, which the danc- 
ing-master or person that conducts this species of 
ballet holds in his hand. This bell or cymbal he 
beats against the edge of another of the same kind, 
which produces ■ a ' brisk vibrating sound, that ani- 
mates the dancers, and gives precision to their move- 
ments. They display, however, no elegant attitudes, 



80 



VOYAGE IN THE 



perform no particular steps, but are full of gesticu* 
lation, and the motion of the arms seems to occupy 
their whole care and attention. Sometimes, during 
the dance, they play with Moorish poniards ; an ex- 
ercise at which they appear to be expert. One of 
them, who was considered as eminently dexterous, 
was sent for one evening to the house of the Mala- 
bar chief, to dance in my presence. Seemingly 
some one had given her a hint ; for she took infin- 
ite pleasure in frightening me with her poniards, 
the point of which she presented to me suddenly, 
turning quickly round every time she passed near 
me, but stopping with great precision within a fin- 
ger's breadth, of my breast^ This movement was 
directed and timed by a stroke of the small cymbal 
which the dancing-master struck unawares at my 
ear, and which never failed to make me start to the 
great amusement of the crowd, which this exhibition 
generally draws together. 

The principal festivals on which the balliaderes 
publicly dance are, the hunting-day of the gods, the 
festival of the chariot, and that of the elephant. 
For a detail of these festivals consult Sonnerat. I 
shall merely observe, that the hunt of the gods is 
not celebrated at present with so much pomp as it 
was formerly, while the festival of the chariot has 
lost as yet nothing of its splendor. We may re- 
mark, nevertheless, whatever be the spirit of the rev- 
olution which seems to over-run the globe and un- 
dermine received opinions, that it appears to act up- 
on the fanaticism of the Indians. Formerly all the 
chariot festivals were distinguished by the death of 
some individual who thought, that by getting him- 
self crushed to pieces or lamed by the wheels or 
sharp instruments with which the chariots are arm- 
ed, be should render himself worthy of heaven ; a 



INDIAN" OCEAN. 



81 



respectable opinion, because it partakes of religion. 
But now, though they are still equally convinced 
of the happiness enjoyed in. another world by those 
who devote themselves to this kind of death, the 
number of victims is notwithstanding considerably 
diminished ; few are to be found who wish to pur- 
chase future felicity at so dear a rate ; and, if we 
except the pagoda of Jagernaut, the most celebrated 
in India, where at most scarcely one bigot perishes 
in this manner in a year, they are no longer seen 
throwing themselves down before the chariot in the 
procession ; or, if any one should do so, he takes 
care to avoid the fatal wheel, and comes off safe 
and sound, or, at the worst, with only a slight in- 
jury. 

We find however in India as great a number of 
faquirs as formerly ; these people still devote them- 
selves to misery ; happiness in the other world is 
not their motive, and they would probably be much 
less numeious, if they did not find here a recom- 
pense for the punishments they impose on them- 
selves, in the extraordinary consideration they enjoy, 
and the respect which is lavished on them. He who 
devotes himself to death, and seeks the consumma- 
tion of his wishes under the wheels of the sacred 
chariot, has the full reward of his pain to expect 
hereafter : during this life he does not receive the 
least portion of it. This charm is not so forcible 
as that of the faquirs. Faith in Brama alone may 
make martyrs of the chariot ; pride governs the oth- 
ers, and supports them in the pains they endure. 
To enable them to bear the tortures to which they 
subject themselves, this pride must be great, and 
must have an astonishing empire over the human 
heart. 

Of the instances of this kind which struck me, 



82 VOYAGE IN THE 

that of keeping the hand constantly closed was the 
one that inspired me with the deepest sentiment of 
horror and pity for the unhappy being who was the 
object of it. The faquir who devoted himself to 
this species of punishment, had his hand pierced by 
his nails, which, continuing to grow notwithstanding 
that posture, had cut through the metacarpus, and 
came out again between the muscles by which the 
fingers are moved. Conceive what must be the du- 
ration of a pain like this, and the constancy of him 
who endured it. 

The priests however, are very great jugglers, and 
possess the art of imposing wonderfully on the peo- 
ple. I saw an instance of it in the neighborhood 
of Fondicherry, at the festival of fire. A woman, 
with an infant at her breast passed barefoot twice 
over a red-hot pan of the length of twenty feet, 
without the smallest indication of pain. She walk- 
ed slowly ; and what invincibly proves to me the 
juggling of the priests, is, that her feet, which I had 
the curiosity to examine, bore not the slightest mark 
of being burnt. I could obtain no proof that the 
woman participated in the craft of the priest ; it is 
possible, that taking advantage of her confidence, 
simplicity and credulity, he might have applied, 
without her knowledge, some greasy substance to 
her feet, the virtue of which was to prevent the 
action of the fire : but whether she was privy to it 
or not, some such means must certainly have been 
employed. Among the multitude, however, there 
was not an individual, ray dobachi excepted, who 
was reputed a man of understanding, that was not 
persuaded that the power of the Divinity alone had 
preserved her from the effects of the fire. I am 
ignorant whether the chemists in Europe have the 
secret of rendering the skin fire-proof ; but I know 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



83 



that it is not confined to the frontiers of India ; for 
I have found it on the coast of Africa, in the fiery 
ordeals which the Negroes of Congo are made to 
undergo, when accused of a crime they are obliged 
to expiate. The Gangas conduct this ceremony, 
and destroy or acquit the accused according to their 
pleasure. 

The priests are far from being the only jugglers, 
and I do not even think them the most expert, 
Their tricks, prepared by time, and aided by super- 
stition, have a great advantage over those of other 
men, and are more likely to succeed. But nothing 
can surpass the dexterity of their rivals, from whom 
our best slight-of hand men might receive lessons. 

[n deceptive tricks, such as vomiting fire, pieces 
of flaming hemp and flax, a considerable quantity 
of thorns, and appearing to draw away the whola 
of their intestines by the mouth, and swallow them 
again, with other facetious performances of a sim- 
ilar kind, they succeed by main force, and carry 
the art to astonishing perfection. In these feats of 
strength, there is no delusion, no slight-of- hand, no 
deception : what we see is precisely what we think 
we see. One of these performances is of a nature 
to contradict all the laws of anatomy, and which no 
surgeon could believe til! he had witnessed it. I 
have known some who were even incredulous after 
they had seen it, and who refused to trust the evi- 
dence of their eyes. 

An Indian naked like his fellows, with no muslin 
round him, nor any clothing whatever to serve as a 
cloak and facilitate deception, takes a sword, the 
edge and point of which are rounded off and blunt- 
ed, and putting it into his mouth, buries it complete- 
ly, all but the haft, in his throat and intestines. 

I have observed some of these men from whom 



84 



VOYAGE IN THE 



the momentary irritation caused by the insertion of 
this strange body has forced tears ; others to whom 
it gave an inclination to cough, which, as they were 
not able to satisfy it obliged them to withdraw the 
Wade instantly, to prevent suffocation. In fine, when 
the sword has entered as far as it can, to the depth 
of more than two feet, they fix a small petard to the 
hilt, set fire to it, and bear its explosion : they then 
draw out the sword, which is covered with the hu- 
midity of the intestines. 

I know that a fact of such description will be re- 
garded by readers in general as a fable, to which 
they conceive they should give no credit. At this 
I shall not be surprised : till I had seen it I refused 
myself to believe it ; but I was under the necessity 
at last of yielding to the force of evidence ; and the 
exhibition of it is now so common at Pondicherry, 
that among tjie travellers who have visited that town, 
there is not one, perhaps, who has not witnessed it. 

Independently of these people, there are also 
rope-dancers, who perform dangerous leaps, which 
those in Europe could not imitate. But of all their 
jugglers the most amusing are those who are thought 
to have the virtue of enchanting serpents, and they 
have at least the art. 

India abounds in reptiles of every description, and 
particularly in serpents. 

Travellers who are not sufficient naturalists to 
class them, distinguish three principal sorts : First, 
the minute- serpent, which is a small black sort, 
with yellow rings, found frequently in pastures. 
The corrosive matter contained in the vesicles of 
this animal is so sharp and violent, that it causes al- 
most instant death. The general opinion of old 
women and the multitude is, that a person may 
live just as many minutes after being bit as the rep- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



85 



tile has rings round its body : and hence the name 
that is given it, of minute-serpent. It is certain, 
that the ravages caused by its poison are so sudden 
that the best alkili applied to the wound, at the very 
moment of the bite, can scarcely counteract it so 
effectually as to preserve life, and never prevents 
the part from being affected with niarasm, languor 
and palsy. 

The bezoar-stone is not of sufficient efficacy 
against the venom of this serpent, and is not even 
capable of protracting life. It is true, that the great- 
er part of those which are purchased in this coun- 
try are not genuine, or at least are very bad. The 
Indians have the talent of fabricating them, so as to 
resemble perfectly the good ones, and the greatest 
skill is necessary not to be mistaken. The bezoar- 
dealers generally bring them to Pondicherry and 
Madras, and have at the same time large scorpions, 
by which to try the efficacy of the stone* The best 
are without contradiction those which are found in 
the bladder of the antelope ; the dealers say they 
are all derived from that animal. These men suf- 
fer themselves to be stung in the finger by an enor- 
mous black scorpion, which they irritate by striking 
it on the back. The wounded part is then made 
to bleed by pressing it, and they immediately apply 
the bezoar, making all kinds of contortions as they 
do it, to persuade the spectators that they feel a 
great deal of pain. After a few minutes they pull 
away the stone, notwithstanding its close adhesion to 
the wound, which is now stopped from bleeding, has 
no swelling or appearance of irritation, and is per- 
fectly curecl. If the bezoar thus made use of ? be 
seized immediately by the intended purchaser, there 
is no doubt of his obtaining a good one ; but it of- 
ten happens, that, under pretence of washing it, it 



86 



VOYAGE IN THE 



is dexterously conveyed away, and a factitious cat 
cuius without virtue substituted in its stead. 

The second description of serpent is that called 
by the Portuguese capelle, from capella, a cloak. It 
is distinguished by a membrane on each side of the 
head, which are in general not perceived ; but 
whenever the animal is irritated, they rise up and 
form a kind of head-dress, that gives it a very beau- 
tiful appearance. This serpent is very dangerous 
and extremely irascible ; but alkali radically cures 
its bite. 

The third species is the house-serpent, which is 
not in the smallest degree either dangerous or iras- 
cible. It glides into the cradle of infants, without 
occasioning the least accident. Yet we naturally 
feel an emotion of horror, when we find them in our 
dwellings ; particularly, as we are not sure at first 
sight of what kind they may be. As soon, there- 
fore, as one of these reptiles is discovered, care is 
taken to destroy it ; and if it is not to be caught, the 
enchanter is sent for. 

This man arrives loaded with baskets, in which 
are snakes and serpents of every kind. His legs are 
furnished with a description of rings, which dangle 
at liberty on the ankle. These rings are cut in two 
breadthwise, and the two parts hollowed, so that at 
each motion of the charlatan's foot, the two sides 
strike against each other and produce a very shrill 
noise, resembling the sound of a brass bason when 
struck with a hammer. Another instrument is also 
employed, called a drone bagpipe, of which the bag 
is pressed under the arm. The noise of this instru- 
ment is so great, that the serpent, stunned and over- 
come by it, is easily taken. 

The conjuror begins by making the serpents in 
the basket dance ; but he does not expose them till 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



87 



he lias played some time to stupefy them a little : 
yet in spite of this precaution, as soon as the baskets 
are opened, the capelies in particular seem inclined 
to be angry rather than to dance, and by provoking 
them, they rise up and assume a threatening pos- 
ture. 

The man keeps near them, and strikes occasion- 
ally with his foot to stupefy them quickly. When 
the right effect is produced, a giddiness takes place, 
the eye loses its lustre, and the serpent, by attempt- 
ing to balance itself, exhibits the appearance of dan- 
cing- 

The reptile that is to be caught, attracted by the 
noise, is sure to leave its retreat, and the sight of its 
fellow-creatures appears to decide the affair ; for it 
readily joins them, follows their example, and soon 
partakes of their supineness. 

The conjuror then puts a basket over its head, 
and shutting it up in it carries it off with the rest, 
amongst which it figures in its turn, and equals them 
In docility. The enchanter asks no other reward 
for his trouble than the animal he has thus caught. 

In every country, those who live on the credu- 
lity of others seldom fail to give to their actions an 
appearance of the marvellous, thereby the more sure- 
ly to impose on the multitude. It is with this view 
that the enchanters of serpents persuade the specta- 
tors, that a few grains of rice will destroy the en- 
chantment which they pretend to operate on the 
reptile, will expose their persons to the greatest 
danger, and render their instrument mute. Eu- 
ropeans seldom fail to throw a small quantity at 
them, and they are generally alert in seizing the 
moment when this is done. The instant they per- 
ceive the rice, they pretend to be no longer able to 
draw tones from their bagpipes, and they fall into 



88 



VOYAGE IN THE 



fits. The serpents, hearing no noise, recover from 
their delirium, and endeavor to escape. Fear in- 
stantly disperses the crowd, the most intrepid a- 
mongst which endeavor to bring the conjuror to 
himself ; who, when he sees his reptiles beginning 
to crawl off, is one of the first to recover his senses. 
When rice is thrown without their knowledge, this 
farce does not take place | ao evident proof that it 
is all deception and trick. 

The Indians use no pomatum for the hair, but, 
believing as we do, that a fat substance contributes 
to its preservation, they substitute cocoa-oil instead 
of it. The Malabars use but little of this oil, but. the 
Portuguese cast employ it in profusion. When the 
oil is fresh, there is nothing disagreeable in the 
smell ; but as no powder is worn, it soon becomes 
rancid, and acquires a stench, to which the people 
of the country are accustomed, but that is extreme- 
ly disagreeable to a stranger. Ladies of the most 
elegant appearance have often occasioned me a nau- 
sea, in spite of their pretensions to beauty, and the 
high opinion they entertained of their charms. 
. Good breeding requires that this disgust .should be 
concealed, but I have often abridged my visits to 
escape the cruel odour that pursued me in every 
company. Another custom, ■ no. less disagreeable 
~ to strangers, and which habit has made absolutely 
J necessary to Indians of all casts and both . sexes, is 
that of chewing. betel 

Betel is a small shrub bearing a leaf similar in 
size and shape to that of the mulberry, and nearly 
of the same contexture as an ivy-leaf. Like the 
latter, it is smooth and of a deep green on one side. 
Its smell is strong, aromntic, and pungent, and its 
taste so sharp and violent that it cannot be borne by 
itself. To render it raiider ? arec-nut and a little 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



&9 



lime are taken with it, which are rolled up in the 
leaf before they begin to chew it. The betel ex- 
cites such a prodigious quantity of saliva, that the 
inhabitants of the country are obliged to keep dish- 
es constantly near them to spit in ; in some houses 
they are even placed on the table. The lime strips 
the teeth, destroying both them and the gums, while 
arec dies the mouth of a colour resembling blood, 
and which is frightful to behold. Accordingly, 
nothing can be more disgusting than the mouth of 
these Indians. The black teeth, bare to the very 
roots, corroded and covered by a red tartar, give 
them an appearance the more shocking, as they 
seem every moment to spit blood. Arec stains 
also of that colour every thing about them, and 
their handkerchiefs in particular are dreadfully dis- 
agreeable to strangers. It requires a long residence 
in the country to become habituated to this prac- 
tice. 

Mechanism and the arts are still in their infancy 
throughout India. The natives have no machines, 
no instruments out of the common way, nor the 
least knowledge of hydraulics : they have scarcely 
even the necessary utensils for the work they un- 
dertake. Neither their carpenters nor joiners have 
benches, but work sitting on the ground, employing 
their great toe to keep firm whatever they are work- 
ing at, which they persevere with great patience in 
fashioning. They make little use of the axe, as it 
obliges them to work standing ; but they do not 
fear attacking any thing, however large, with the 
chisel, which they can use sitting. The whole of a 
joiner's tools in this country consists of a miserable 
line, a chisel, a mallet, and a saw. With these in- 
struments alone, assisted by patience, they accom- 
plish any work of which a pattern is given them. 
H 2 



90 



VOYAGE IN THE 



The goldsmiths are no better furnished. Yon 
send for a workman either in gold or silver when- 
ever you have occasion for one, and he places him- 
self in a corner of the court with his implements, 
consisting of a hammer, an anvil, an indifferent file, 
a portable forge* and a crucible. With these he 
works a whole day to make a ring, and will succeed 
In fabricating other articles that require no great in- 
vention. There are some, however, that they will 
) not undertake. Our best Enropean productions 
are above their ability ; but they make notwith- 
standing, in their way, a very considerable variety. 

Smiths are equally behind hand, and yet find no 
Inconvenience in forming every thing. They place 
themselves they care not where, make a small hole 
in the ground, and kindle a fire in it. To the fire 
they apply a pair of bellows made of two sheep- 
skins well sewed together, terminating in a tube at 
©ne end to conduct the air, but open at the other, 
and nailed to two pieces of wood serving as handles. 
The smith seated before his fire, works these bel- 
lows with his hand, while his feet are employed in 
holding or turning his iron in the fire : when it is 
hot, he ceases blowing, and his anvil being near, he 
forges whatever he wishes without rising. If the 
piece he would beat be too large for one pair of 
bellows, he employs two, ?md could even use three 
without any other inconvenience than having two 
children to assist in working them. Thus, a ham- 
mer and anvil, and two sheep-skins are every thing 
he stands in need of. With these he will fabricate 
every article of iron- work necessary in building a 
house. 

Their sculptors have no better implements than 
their joiners, and there cannot be a greater curiosity 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



91 



than to see with what address they fashion the 
blocks under foot 

Except for linen cloths, they have no painters. 
They stretch the cloth in their court yard, and sit 
down to work on it ; for here, as in every other 
trade they are ignorant how to do any thing stand- 
ing. Their tools consist of a brush or two of bam- 
boo wood, of which the ends are beaten soft, and 
converted into threads of no great fineness. With 
these wretched instruments dipped in colour, which 
they keep in a kind of wooden box, they design and 
paint the beautiful Indian goods, which we find it 
difficult to imitate in Europe. They hold the brush 
between the first and second fingers, in the same 
manner as they hold the pen when they write ; but 
they have no great need of patience in this talent, 
as they design with admirable celerity. 

Of all their tools or machines, that used in weav- 
ing approaches the nearest to ours. In Pondieher- 
ry, there are some formed exactly on the same mod- 
el ; but in the villages they are much more simple. 
In other respects, with the exception of the work- 
man's convenience, and the excellence of the dif- 
ferent parts, their looms are very much like ours, 
and produce the same effects. Nothing can be 
more portable than they are : when a family moves 
to fresh quarters, or sets out on a journey, a child 
will bear the whole machine in its arms, when tak- 
en to pieces, and thus carry the fortune of the whole 
house. 

The instrument used by carders of cotton is the 
only one which seemed to me to be ingenious. 
Cotton is the source of their wealth ; and it is there- 
fore not surprising, that they should have bestowed 
on a machine that prepares it for spinning some ad- 
ditional pains. It is large, with a head nearly re- 



92 



VOYAGE IN THE 



sembling the handle of a violin. On thiiT instru- 
ment a large gut is stretched, which they pinch 
with the cotton, and the vibration, tossing it in the 
air, separates and cleans it perfectly. 

Their spinning-wheels are exactly like the large 
wheel which our peasants use in spinning wool. The 
fineness of the thread depends on the skill of the 
workman. 

Their architecture, relatively speaking, is not at 
all superior to their other arts. Its proportions are 
considerably abbreviated : without having examined 
this subject minutely, it appears to me that they 
have two orders ; one short and heavy, with mould- 
ings similar to the Tuscan ; the other longer, light, 
and slender, terminating in a head like a cabbage, 
different from that of the Corinthian order, yet 
serving as a substitute for it, without partaking of 
its elegance. 

The manner in which they build large edifices is 
rather extraordinary. Their houses are of brick, 
and in erecting these they proceed in the ordinary 
way : but when they have pagodas or chauderies 
to construct, and great weights to lift to a consider- 
able height, they act upon a very different plan. 
As they have neither palankas, masts, cranes, nor 
any other instrument for the accumulation of force, 
they introduce a very ingenious substitute. The 
foundations are laid as usual, and the first row of 
stones being raised above the surface, they throw 
up earth against it, and slope it down on the out- 
side. In laying the second row, they roll the stones 
on by means of this slope, and thus get them to 
their place without the least inconvenience ; then 
bringing more earth, they increase the slope, and 
lay every row of stones in the same manner till the 
whole is complete ; so that when the building is 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



9o 



finished it is perfectly buried, and is no small resem- 
blance of a small mountain sloped regularly on ail 
sides. The earth is afterwards carried away, and 
the building remains entire. 

The interior of the houses of the opulent is plas- 
tered with a kind of mastic, which they call stucco. 
This composition exactly resembles marble ; and 
when it is well made, it becomes so hard, and ac- 
quires so beautiful a polish, that, if not exposed to 
the injuries at the air, it will last upwards of twen- 
ty years. It is composed of sifted lime, when no 
plaster can be got, mixed with sugar, oil, and the 
white of eggs. 

Shoe-makers are the best furnished with tools, 
but they .do not sew their leather as we do, but have 
a small instrument like that used by embroiderers 
in Europe ; the thread is therefore passed double 
through the sole, and another thread run through 
the loops, which are drawn tight upon it. This 
method of sewing takes very little time, and indeed 
great expedition is used through the whole business. 
A workman takes measure for a pair of shoes in the 
morning, kills a goat, takes off its skin, tans it for 
the leather of which they are to be made, and after 
dinner brings them home' to all appearance hand- 
some and good. This quick mode of tanning must 
of course be very defective, the process being ex- 
cessively astringent ; but the hide, without except- 
ing even the colour, is not unlike our green leather. 
They take measure by spanning the foot, and by 
merely touching it will make a shoe fit well ; but 
the materials of which the shoe is made are wretch- 
ed The principal inconvenience arises from the 
skins being so recently dressed. When the shoe is 
first tried on, the leather is humid and flexible, but 
it soon becomes as hard as parchment. I am 



34 



VOYAGE IN THE 



speaking of shoes for sale. The second inconven- 
ience arises from its being sewed with cotton ; for 
if, by accident, you put your foot into water, the 
thread gives way and the shoe comes to pieces ; 
and even if you have the good fortune to keep clear 
of water, and the cotton be good enough to last a 
day or two, the first false step will burst the upper- 
leather. With such shoes it is imppossible to dance 
long, and accordingly if you attend a ball, and 
have no European shoes, it is necessary to have 
two or three pair that are sewed with silk. To rem- 
edy this inconvenience, the inhabitants of Pondicher- 
ry have thread from Europe, which is used instead 
of cotton, and the shoes if carefully made, will last 
a much longer time. 

The principal object of cultivation in India is rice. 
Very little wheat is grown, and that little is intend- 
ed for the use of Eurdpeans. The Indians, com- 
prehending even the Portuguese cast, live almost 
entirely upon rice, so that having scarcely any corn 
to grind they are in no want of mills. It would be 
easy to erect wind-mills, but they are fortunate in 
being able to do without them, as calms and hurri- 
canes would render them useless during a great part 
of the year; and as to water-mills, the country is so 
level, that no streams are to be found of sufficient 
force to put the wheels in motion. They reduce 
their grain to flour, notwithstanding, by the use of 
hand-mills. The population is so considerable, the 
means of industry so scarce, and manual labour of 
course so cheap, thai no inconvenience is felt from 
the want of machinery. It is true, they can never 
apply any considerable force ; but I have seen them 
adopt in lieu of it, in their shipping, some very in- 
genious means, and as little complicated as that 
which I before mentioned in building their houses* 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



95 



They use a kind of mill to extract oi! from cocoa, 
which, though very imperfect, yields them the 
same advantages as a better. Several Europeans 
would have furnished them with models. Mr. 
Beggle even constructed a large mill at Madras, that 
was worked by oven. It consisted of several wheels, 
gained prodigiously in point of expedition over the 
mills of the country, and answered in every respect 
much better. The Blacks examined and admired 
it, but persisted in the use of their own, for reasons 
which appeared to me judicious. To erect such a 
mill ar great number of materials were necessary, 
and a considerable expense would be incurred. An 
Indian could not afford this, and the machine re- 
quired besides too many oxen and hands to work it. 
The rich, in whose power it was to speculate in 
this way, considered it as beneath them, and were 
unwilling to turn their views further than the 
cloth-trade and stock-jobbing. A person of the low- 
er class, who devotes himself to this sort of work, 
has but two oxen, and frequently only one. His 
mill consists of a large vase, in which a pivot, fixed 
to a beam and worked by his oxen, presses the co- 
coa, and extracts the oil. Thi3 machine is erected 
in the open air, and requires neither house nor ser- 
vants. Himself alone, between his two beasts, reg- 
ulates their pace, and works just as much as suffices 
for his subsistence. The extraction of cocoa-oil is 
the only process that requires a mill. 

The Indians have neither barn nor threshing-floor 
for their rice. A man, squat on his heels, takes a 
handful of the straw in his left hand, and beats it with 
a kind of mallet which he holds in the other hand. 
However great the quantity they have to thresh, 
this is the only method they employ, increasing the 
number of hands in proportion to the work. When 



m 



VOYAGE IN THE 



the grain is cleared from its outward covering, and 
they wish to cook it, they throw a portion into a 
large mortar, made of the trunk of a tree, hollowed 
in the shape of a reversed cone, and which wii! 
hold about twenty pounds. In this vessel they stir 
and pound it with a large stick for several hours. 
As this must be done standing, it fatigues them great- 
ly. The rice by the friction is so well cleared as 
to be read v to winnow and wash for use. 

Their land is cultivated by the plough. That 
which has a spring of water near it is appropriated 
to the growth of rice, (hat it may be laid under wa- 
ter at pleasure. The fields are divided into small 
compartments, similar to a salt-pit in Europe. The 
banks are raised about a foot above the surface to 
retain the water upon the land* It is well known 
that humidity, combined with heat, produces vege- 
tation, and it appears that rice, to make it thri ve well, 
requires a great deal of water. 1 am aware that 
there is a kind of mountain-rice ': but it is probable, 
that to the acceleration of the growth of this kind 
of rice, water is not essentially necessary ; and it is 
thought besides to be unwholesome, and to occasion 
dysenteries. The low-land rice, to grow fast, ought 
to be constantly covered with six inches of water. 
The land is never drained till the grain is nearly 
ripe. In watering it, the genius of the Indians is 
particularly manifested. Having no hydraulic ma- 
chines, or the means of applying great mechanical 
force, they employ an instrument which they call a 
picote, or at least which Europeans have so named 
for them. 

The soil in the plains of the peninsula of Indm is 
not yet entirely drained, its surface alone bein<r free 
from the element which formerly overwhelmed it. 
This soil does not rest on a solid foundation, and if 



INDIAN OCEAN. 97 

dug to any depth, the water which has not been able 
to run off in the few ages that have elapsed siuce 
its retreat from the surface, is instantly found. From 
its filtering through the earth, assisted by the sup- 
ply it receives from the rain and torrents that pour 
from the mountains in the rainy seasons, the saline 
and bituminous qualities it contained are in a great 
measure lost, and it is become in many places drink- 
able, while in others it is brackish. The cultivators, 
therefore, have only to dig in a corner of a field, 
to have a well fit for watering it. Near this well 
they set up a pole about fifteen or eighteen feet 
high, which serves as a resting-point to a strong 
lever, a fourth part longer than the pole, placed on 
an axis shorter than the pole by about three-fourths. 
The large end, by which it is moved up and down, 
is loaded with a sufficient weight to answer that pur- 
pose. To the small end they hang a pole equal in 
length to the depth of the well, and they fasten to 
it a kettle, that will hold about half a barrel of wa- 
ter, more or less. A black at the brink of the well 
sinks this kind of bucket, and when it is filled an- 
other Black mounts upon the lever, walks towards 
the heavy end, and his weight, added to that already 
affixed to it, raises the water to the edge of the welf, 
where the Black, stationed for the purpose, empties 
it into the canal destined to receive it, and it is thus 
conveyed into the different compartments of the 
field. 

This work they perform with great agility every 
morning and evening to the tune of a song calculated 
to charm its irksomeness and fatigue. A picote, 
when the Blacks exert themselves well, will draw up 
five barrels in a minute ; there are few machines 
that would draw as much, at so little expense and 
with no more hands. 
I 



98 



VOYAGE IK THE 



The Indians are in general sober and lazy ; little 
suffices for their wants, and that little obtained no 
motive wil! induce them to work for more. When 
a person of the lower class therefore has earned a 
couple of rupees, he can purchase a sack of rice 
and while this lasts he would remain in idleness ; 
but the tax-gatherers take good care to leave him 
scarcely any means of indulging bis natural propen- 
sity. 

The exactions surpass any thing that can be said 
of them. The wretched inhabitants can with diffi- 
culty scrape together three or four rupees without 
its coming to the knowledge of these men, by whom 
they are instantly extorted. 

The Indians cultivate also cotton and indigo : the 
former is the small cotton of the Antilles, which 
they cultivate and gather as in other places ; but 
their manner of macerating and precipitating indigo 
is different from that of any other country. We see 
none of those large establishments which are to be 
met with in our islands ; nor have they any tubs to 
beat and macerate a great number of herbs at a 
time. A workman who is in want of a small quan- 
tity of indigo, macerates and beats it in a pot. 
This process is so slow as to require all his patience, 
and would not answer for a manufactory of any ex- 
tent. They frequently leave it ^o precipitate of 
itself ; and as, if the water be not sufficiently stirred 
to detach the particles of indigo, it becomes diffi- 
cult to precipitate, they accelerate it with lime. 
This practice is common in Cayenne, whence it has 
passed to the Isle of France. 

To the cultures before mentioned the Indians 
add that of cocoa- trees. I have observed in another 
part of this work, that this tree is the most valuable 
present which man has received from the hands of 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



99 



nature. I shall not enter here into an explanation 
of the numerous advantages derived from it, or to 
what use the fruit, hair, leaves, and wood, are ap- 
plied : I shall merely observe, that these trees never 
fail to make the fortune of those who possess any 
quantity of them in the neighborhood of the towns 
of India. A person having a small garden contain- 
ing three hundred cocoa-plants, which require no 
great space on account of the small distance at which 
they are planted from each other, will derive from 
it a sufficient income for his support without any 
other resource. Of these plants a hundred will in 
this case be appropriated to the production of calou 
or pa!m-wine, while the rest bear fruit, from which 
they extract oil, and afterwards sell the hair for the 
use of the shipping. Such an estate at Pondicfaer- 
ry would be worth a thousand rupees a year : an e- 
normous sum for an Indian. Some idea may be 
formed of the price of living in that town by what 
is charged at inns and boarding-houses. In the 
latter, for thirty rupees a month, you live luxuri- 
ously : and the terms have been considerably raised 
to make it amount to that price, for before the war 
they were much lower. It is easy to conceive, that 
a private family has many advantages over such 
houses. 

Their caioii 3 or palm wine, is extracted in the 
same way as on the coast of Africa, the liquor be- 
ing drawn from an incision made in one of the 
principal branches ; but their method of climbing 
the tree is very different. The Black employed in 
this work puts his feet into a rope-ring about six 
inches long, which keeps them from separating, 
and enables him to find sure footing on the rough 
trunk of the tree, on which he climbs, by clasping 



100 



VOYAGE IN THE 



It with his arms and rising about six inches at a 
stretch. 

The common fruits of India are the banana, pi- 
sang, sweet and bitter orange, citron, shaddock* 
ananas, mango, particularly a species of extraordin- 
ary delicacy growing at Velour, cinnamon apples* 
otherwise called atte, jam rosa, letchi, mangosteen 
and sarangosteen ; and at Madras the bread-fruit 
begins to appear. These are all too well known for 
any of them to require a description. 

European vegetables succeed there tolerable well. 
Of those which are natural to the climate, (he princi- 
pal are brette and ignam. Brelte reiembles spinage, 
and is cooked in the same way : it is very bitter, 
and requires seasoning. The Indians esteem it 
highly in a dish called cari. Ignam is a farinaceous 
root of high flavor, and is eaten like bread. 

I shall say nothing of the ornithology of India, 
Sonnerat having perfectly exhausted the subject ; 
hut I shall venture to affirm, as to quadrupeds, that 
the elephant is not yet thoroughly known in Eu- 
rope. With all the respect 1 entertain for Buffon, 
I cannot ascribe it to modesty that this animal does 
not multiply in captivity. It is in thh state by no 
means disinclined to love, but seeks the female, 
though not in season, and greatly caresses her. It 
is seldom indeed that this animal propagates in 
confinement, but there are certainly instances of it. 
I saw myself a young one at Bengal born so lately 
that it was necessary to put boiled rice into its 
mouth, as, unless fed in this manner, it was incapa- 
ble of eating. Though what I have advanced upon 
this subject may be at variance with the observa- 
tions that have been made in Europe, where the 
male and female elephant have been kept together* 
1 ought not to be hastily condemned ; for the man* 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



101 



ners of an animal, shut up with its mate in a 
cage, are certainly different from those which it 
would assume in its own country, where it enjoys, 
in the extensive parks in which it is kept among a 
number of its fellows, such liberty, that it seems 
scarcely to have any sense of its confinement. 

The elephant is not so heavy in its motions as 
many have supposed, and is capable of acquiring by 
exercise considerable agility : i have seen it skip 
and leap with ease and lightness. All that has been 
said of its sagacity appears to me to be perfectly 
true : I shall not enumerate the instances, already 
well known, that have been cited in proof of it. 

The use of this animal is become very common 
in India. Though it bears a high price, and its 
maintenance is expensive, there are few persons of 
any wealth who have not several. They are em- 
ployed in carrying burdens, for taking the air, for 
hunting and for war. Those employed in war are 
extremely courageous, and often display more brave- 
ry than many men. Those trained to the chase are 
used only against tigers. — I shall resume this sub- 
ject when I come to the article of Bengal. 

Among the disorders w.hfch greatly prevail here, 
of a depurative nature, and which, with proper 
treatment, would produce salutary effects, is the 
itch ; but it is attended with one disagreeable cir- 
cumstance, that of making itself apparent. The 
inhabitants have a common saying, " that love and 
the itch cannot be concealed and they prefer to 
this complaint the gonorrhoea, which besides, by 
serving them as a sort of issue perpetually open, 13 
of material benefit to their health. For this latter 
complaint the root called curanelli proves efficacious 
in the most obstinate cases* 

Pondicherry, at the time of my being there, con? 
I 2 



102 VOYAGE IN THE 

taiaed only from four hundred and fifty to five hun- 
dred Europeans at most. As it was not likely that 
so inconsiderable a population could produce much 
diversity, or at least much contrariety, of interests, 
it might have been hoped, that this colony would 
escape the effects of the commotions which were 
overthrowing the governments of Europe. It was 
visited, however, by the revolutionary mania, which 
^displayed all the symptoms of extravagance that 
characterized the Jacobins of France, and it is only 
to be ascribed to the firmness of the chevalier De- 
Fresne, the governor, that the explosion did not 
prove fatal to half the inhabitants. The detachment 
of which the garrison was composed was still retain- 
ed in the strictest discipline ; and the indefatigable 
zeal of this officer would probably have averted al! 
the troubles by which the colony has been since ag- 
itated, had there not been sent from France, for the 
purpose of strengthening the place, a battalion of in- 
fantry, which was soon followed by commissaries. 
Notwithstanding the pacific endeavors of one of 
these, the commissary of the marine, he was unable 
to prevent the establishment of revolutionary forms 
in the garrison, which at last obliged the governor 
to retire; and his departure consigned the place to 
the fate which afterwards befel it. 

By the celebrated peace which lord Cornwaliis 
had some time before concluded with T^ppoo, the 
English company obtained half of that prince's terri- 
tory. Tranquil in the midst of its possessions, it 
now saw its rivals enfeebling themselves, and en- 
joyed, without the prospect of danger, the fruit of 
its conquests. 

Its real situation was nevertheless on the moufh 
of a volcano, the explosion of which depended upon 
the conduct of its enemies. The treaty that was 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



103 



ultimately to overthrow its powers was even pro- 
jected and arranged ; but subsequent events did 
not permit it to be carried into execution, and fate 
seemed resolved to perpetuate the triumph of the 
English. 

The intelligence of the French revolution had 
reached the court of Tippoo, who judged, that the 
establishment of a new order of things in France 
might produce a change of sentiment in his favor 9 
and reanimate the allies who had abandoned hinu 
Upon this presumption he founded those resolutions, 
which have since, in their consequences, involved 
his total ruin. 

In one of his military movements, prior to the 
period when lord Cornwallis marched with an ar- 
my from Bengal for the purpose of giving him bat- 
tle, Tippoo advanced towards Pondicherry, and en- 
camped upon the neighboring hill. The rules of 
policy not permitting the French governor to violate 
his neutrality by admitting him into the town, Tip- 
poo requested, that Mr. L — , the intendant of the 
place, might be sent to him. This officer, who was 
commissary of marine, had by a long application 
to the Moorish language, acquired so intimate a 
knowledge of it, that he could understand the sul- 
tan without an interpreter. At this interview Tip- 
poo explained bis intentions to him with confidence ; 
and it was in consequence of the plan which was at 
this time formed, that Mr. L — embarked for 
France two months afterwards, in the Thetis frig- 
ate, to solicit from the government a closer alliance 
with Tippoo, and such aid as might enable him to 
make an effectual resistance to the arms of the Eng- 
lish company. 

Elated with the importance of his mission, and am- 
bitious of returning to the sultan in the character of 



104 



VOYAGE IN THE 



plenipotentiary, the commissary, could see no ob* 
stacle to the execution of the project, and persuaded 
himself - of the certainty of its success. 

He had little difficulty in inspiring an unfortu- 
nate and unassisted prince with all the hope which 
he himself entertained. It was from this fatal con- 
fidence that Tippoo consented to the sacrifices which 
he made by the peace with lord Cornwailis, being 
sure, as he thought, when his expected treaty with 
France should be ratified, of recovering what he ced- 
ed. That country however, which was at this 
time too much occupied with its more immediate 
and pressing concerns, to afford any share of its con- 
sideration to those of India, deferred for the present 
the alliance; and it was not till the success of its 
arms against its external enemies allowed it to turn 
its attention to the interests of the sultan, that the 
directory, having fallen upon the sketch of the trea- 
ty projected in the camp before Pondicherry, gave 
him those assurances which led this ill-fated nabob 
to point at last the cannon that was to shatter his 
throne to atoms. 

Had the state of Europe, instead of preventing 
the close alliance which Tippoo solicited, allowed 
France to send a body of troops to Pondicherry, the 
fall of that prince would probably not have taken 
place ; and the French would still have possessed an 
ally, and have kept a footing in India, by which, in 
times of greater tranquillity, to re-establish their 
commerce. The death therefore of Tippoo, and 
the expulsion of his family from the throne which 
his father had acquired, are to be added to the long 
list of calamities, which it has fallen to the lot of 
France to experience. 

The abolition of the monarchy in France having 
involved the new government in a war with Eng« 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



105 



land, all the French settlements in India fell into the 
hands of the latter nation, Pondicherry was the 
only place that made any resistance: but colonel 
Braithwaite obliged it to surrender, though not till 
the trenches had been open before it thirteen days. 
The garrison consisted chiefly of a battalion of Eu- 
ropean troops, called the battalion of India, which 
was composed of about two hundred men, the rem- 
nant of the troops which had been left at the evac* 
nation of the place ; two hundred who had arrived 
since in the vessel the Bie avenue, and who might 
prabably be reduced to a hundred and fifty ; and 
four hundred recruits from L Orient, in the ship, 
the Chancellor of Brabaut, which discharged upon 
the shore of India, with these new soldiers, every 
principle of disorder and insubordination. The rest 
of the garrison consisted of a battalion of Sepoys, 
of about the same number ; such of the inhabitants 
who could bear arms, amounting at most to two 
hundred, and equipped as cavalry ; and a detach- 
ment of artillery, of about sixty men, including the 
Caffres who were attached to it. Thus the whole 
force of the besieged did not exceed sixteen hun- 
dred and sixty men, of whom half were native 
troops ; yet with no other fortification than a ditch 
and banks of crumbling earth, the garrison held 
out for thirteen days, and repulsed two assaults' of 
an army provided with every requisite to ensure 
success. 

Though Pondicherry was the only place that de- 
fended itself (and it was the only one that had the 
means), Yanaon would at least sho w a desire of do- 
ing the same- M Sonnerat, the estimable author 
of the work on the religions of India, commanded 
in this place for the king. The troubles of the rev- 
olution had not spared even this obscure spot of 



106 



VOYAGE IN THE 



ground ; and fix comtnercial houses, which com* 
posed the whole European population of the vil- 
lage, were seen with astonishment neglecting their 
private affairs, to attend to disputes, and the busi- 
ness of deposing the commandant. M. Somierat 
however recovered his authority, and the governor 
of Pondicherry having thought proper to send him 
a reinforcement of six soldiers of colour, he purchas- 
ed two marine gun&, by the help of which he re- 
solved to oppose any hostile attack. Desirous of 
entwining a branch of the laurel with the wreath 
which he had already merited by his excellent sci- 
entific observations as a naturalist, he made prepar- 
ations for defending himself with this small force. 
Though the idea of such an ailtempt was ludicrous, 
it deceived the English commander in that part of 
India, Yeates, who granted him a capitulation. 
Accordingly M. Somierat did not surrender this in- 
significant village without obtaining the honors of 
war, and the merchants settled there were indebted 
to him for conditions, which ensured to them their 
property and their trade. 

Thus fell this fair structure, which, reared upon 
the foundations laid by Dupleix and Labourdon- 
naye, appeared at first to afford the prospect of as- 
piring to the clouds, Alas, it had scarcely risen 
from the earth, when this catastrophe laid it low, 
perhaps for ever ! 

Not satisfied with the total expulsion of the French 
from the continent of India, the English company 
thought its task unfinished till it should also make 
itself master of the Isles of France and Bourbon, the 
only possessions of its rivals to the east of the Cape 
of Good Hope, but which might be a source of per- 
petual annoyance and alarm. 

For this enterprise a force of ten thousand men 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



107 



was allotted, who were on the point of embarking 
when war was suddenly declared between the ni- 
zam of Golconda and the slates of the Mahrattas, 
Tippoo, seeing his frontiers thus exposed to the ef- 
fects of these hostilities, took up arms as a measure 
of caution : and the English government not think- 
ing it prudent to employ so great a force in a for- 
eign expedition, when its neighbors at home were 
in this posture, the troops received counter orders, 
and the undertaking was for the present abandoned. 

A fault committed by the government of Madras 
at this time, has since put these islands in security 
against any future attempt. Towards the close of 
his reign, Louis XVI. had turned his thoughts to 
the affairs of India ; and the daily changes in the 
ministry having at last brought into office some in- 
dividual who fixed his attention on the means of 
preserving Pondicherry, and re-establishing it as a 
military post, the king ordered lieutenant- colonel 
de Feline, an officer of talents, to be sent out, for 
the purpose of preparing a system of defence, and 
of acquiring a knowledge of the country in which 
he would have himself to carry on a war. This 
officer, however, being provided neither with men 
nor money, could effect nothing, and was taken 
with the place which he was sent to defend. Be- 
ing a prisoner, he requested his liberty, on condi- 
tion of not serving again during the war, and it was 
granted him. This was a flagrant error on the 
part of the English ; and they added to it, that of 
suffering him to proceed to the Isle of France. 
There his reputation had preceded him, and on his 
arrival, an English officer of equal rank, who hap- 
pened to be a prisoner, was immediately released. 
This exchange freeing him from his parole, he was 
charged to put the colony into a state of defence : 



108 



VOYAGE IN THE 



and lie succeeded so well in this object, that the 
English company have not thought proper to risk 
against it any attempt- 
Thus was preserved to the French an important 
settlement, that may serve, at some future period, 
as a point on which to assemble their forces, with 
the view of recovering their former possessions in 
India; an undertaking, however of great 'difficulty, 
if at all possible, in the present state of their af- 
fairs, with no allies, nor a single port to support 
them on their landing- The English company is a 
huge colossus, rendered by its size and weight not 
easy to be shaken ; but this vast structure is raited 
upon ruins, and whoever builds upon such founda- 
tions should count that his fabric will eventually 
fall. Still, in the relative situation of the two ca- 
tions, it may be expected, at least for some time, to 
triumph over all the efforts of France. Formida- 
ble by its forces, with no enemies and no riv<ds ? 
possessing the sovereignty of all India, enriched by 
an immense commerce, but inclosing is its very bos- 
om a radical defect, in a foreign population, this 
company will continue to advance, till, enfeebled 
by its splendor, and too unwieldy for its basis, it 
will be no longer able to support its prosperity, and 
will sink under its own weight. It will be the wis- 
dom of France to content herself with sowing the 
seeds of division and independence among the trib- 
utary states of India, without attempting to use opeji 
force in the destruction of this empire. This is 
perhaps the only method by which she ran succeed 
in rescuing this part of .the world from the domin- 
ion of her rival. She will reap indeed no imwe- 
diate benefit from the change ; but it is a maxim in 
politics, that every loss we occasion our enemy is 
so much gain to ourselves. 



i 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



109 



I have interrupted the narrative of my voyage, 
that I might place before the reader at once a reg- 
ular view of the causes which produced the fall of 
the French power in India. 1 return to my origin- 
al subject. 

I had promised an account of the French posses- 
sions on the coasts of the peninsula. I have men- 
tioned Ma he, Kankal, and Pondicherry ; the re- 
mainder are the factories of Mazulipatain, and Ya* 
naon. 

The former of these is a considerable town, in. 
which the English company have a council under 
the presidency of Midras, the authority of which 
extends northward to the frontiers of the Four Sir* 
cars. The French government had retained, for 
the purposes of commerce, a house, on which it was 
allowed the empty privilege of displaying it? flag ; 
but even this right was soon disputed, and finally 
abolished. Mazulipatam contains some manufac- 
tories of handkerchiefs which were formerly of im- 
portance, tiljLthose of Palliacata were removed to 
Madras, and established within the walls of that me- 
tropolis. They are, however, still in request for 
the excellence of their colouring. The neighbor- 
ing villages also, particularly Narpily, produce some 
which are held in estimation. The French partici- 
pated in this branch of trade, by means of the com- 
mercial residence mentioned above ; and the pres- 
ence of an agent prevented a part of those obstacles 
and vexations to be expected by foreigners residing 
among rivals who are jealous of them. 

Further northward, Yanaon, a small settlement 
within the limits of the English territory, was the 
centre, as 1 before observed, of the French com- 
merce on the coast of India. This was the *ast 
remnant of the acquisitions of the marquis de Bus- 
K 



no 



VOYAGE IN THE 



&y : this illustrious adventurer having in his youth 
undertaken on his own account the conquest of the 
empire of the Four Sircars, provinces of the king- 
dom of Golconda, did homage for it to the crown 
of France. This country, undergoing the fate of 
the rest of the French settlements, passed into the 
hands of the English, who from the ramparts of 
Visigapatam had command of it, and reduced to 
inactivity the Dutch colony of Biblipatam, which 
lies contiguous to it. Yanaon and its territory, 
situated near the southern extremity of these prov- 
inces, was all that France could save at the peace ; 
and even here the conquerors, before they left it, 
destroyed every thing that might hereafter offend 
their pride ; and, in their usual spirit of vandalism,, 
pulied down the house which had formerly belong- 
ed to the French company, because it excelled in 
magnificence that of the governor oflngeram, the 
adjacent English settlement. 

With respect to the marquis of Bussy, he return- 
ed to Europe, where he lived forgotten amidst the 
honours which had been bestowed upon him, til! 
the war of 1778, occasioning the want of a gener- 
al to command in India, all eyes were suddenly 
turned upon him. The remembrance of the con* 
quests of his earlier years was revived, his name 
alone was deemed to be a tower of strength, and he 
was eagerly sent to the scene of his former glory, 
again to display himself. But he was now unfor- 
tunately of an age ill suited to a renewal of such ex- 
ploits. Arriving in India in the character of gener- 
alissimo of the French forces, his conduct had no 
other effects than to paralyse the exertions of troops, 
that, under a more active commander, would scarce- 
ly have waited patiently for the enemy within 
their entrenchments at Goudelours ; and he ter- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



Ill 



ruinated his career by a peaceable death at Pondi- 
cherry, leaving the brilliant achievements of his 
youth contrasted by the inertness of his old age. 
His countrymen erected a monument to his mem- 
ory in the church of the Capuchins in that town, 
which still attracts the veneration of those Indians 
who witnessed his early success, 

Yanaon is advantageously situated at the conflu- 
ence of the small river Coringui with the Godvva- 
rin. The mouth of the latter is obstructed by sand- 
banks, over which the sea never flows above six or 
seven feet even at the highest tides, and therefore 
cannot be entered by vessels drawing a greater depth 
of water ; but by the assistance of an experienced 
pilot, a tolerably deep passage may be found among 
the numerous small channels by which the sand- 
banks are intersected. This river is deep within 
the bar, and is navigable to a great distance, though 
little frequented by vessels. Its borders are pleas- 
ant ; and its course renders the prospect very pictur- 
esque. The stream is broad and rapid: at Yana- 
on it is stronger than that of the Garonne at Bour- 
deaux. I ascended it even beyond Cota; and the 
further*! advanced, the wider and deeper I found 
it. Its interior navigation is trifling, as the Indians 
are too lazy to prosecute any thing that requires 
activity. 

The Coringui is merely a rivulet formed by the 
Godwarin, and may be regarded as a mouth of it. 
It proceeds out of the Godwarin at Yanaon, and 
empties itself into the sea at -a small place called Co- 
ringui, at the distance of about three leagues. It 
is augmented in its course by the waters of the dis- 
trict through which it passes. This country, which 
is scarcely above the level of the sea, is intersected 
by so many deep canals as to be wholly impassable, 



112 



VOYAGE IN THE 



In descending the Coringui, the land to the left is 
a vast marsh, which, draining itself into the river, 
renders it of sufficient depth near its mouth to ad- 
mit vessels of considerable burden. The English, 
who are masters of both banks, have quitted the left, 
to settle upon the right ; and a great part of the 
natives having followed tbern, the old town consists 
now of three or four huts only, round a pagoda 
that still preserves its ancient reputation. Differ- 
ent treaties have injured to the inhabitants of Ya« 
Baon the free navigation of this river, affording a 
communication with the road at its mouth. This 
is a great advantage in the conveyance of merchan- 
dize, which must otherwise have been sent by the 
Godwarin, with much danger and loss of time. 

The village of Yanaon, with the territory be- 
longing to it, and a small island situated io the 
south, forms a space of about a league and a half 
square. This space contains a population of six 
thousand Indians, and is the last of the French pos- 
sessions on this coast. We have now taken a sur- 
vey of them all : the list is not long; and it may 
readily be seen how greatiy the power and influence 
of that nation are reduced in this part of the globe. 
This is the result of a bad system, and of obstinacy 
in the pursuit of ill-conceived plans. The grand 
projects of Dupleix would have led to glory and to 
fortune ; but these were neglected and despised, 
while the sovereign was led into error by the ignor- 
ance and infatuation of those of his court who 
were intrusted with the management of the affairs 
of India. So little were the interests of France in 
Asia an object of attention at Versailles, that in the 
framing the treaty of peace of 1783, no person was 
consulted who was acquainted with our possessions 
in that quarter. This is evident from the treaty. 



IiVBIAN OCEAN. 



113 



itself, which contains precisely the same condition 
with regard to India, and nearly in the same words, 
as that of the preceding peace ; though the superi- 
ority which M. de Suffrein had acquired gave us 
the power of recovering all our former losses. A 
glaring proof of the ignorance of the authors of this 
treaty, on the part of France, fespecting even the 
geography of the country, on the destiny of which 
they were to decide, is, that they confounded the 
village of Vilnour w ith that of Valadour. The one 
has a very considerable, the other a very narrow, 
territory, and, while intending to retain the greater, 
they stipulated for the less. This mistake, w hich 
has deprived us of an extent of land equal to all 
that we now retain on the coast, is one of the least 
errors committed on that occasion. We might 
have insisted upon the whole country to the south 
of the peninsula, as far as Pondicherry, that is to 
say, all the places which the English possess there, 
and which would have given us the same influence 
over the princes of those small dates, as is now ex- 
ercised by them ; whereas we scarcely acquired in 
the whole a district of twelve leagues square. All 
our measures on this subject have been ill chosen ; 
while England, on the contrary, taking advantage 
of our errors, adopting the wise and prudent sys- 
tem which we abandoned, and opposing patience 
and perseverance to the petulance of the conductors 
of our affairs, who were eager to reap the harvest 
when the seed was scarcely sown, has carried the 
splendor of its Indian colonies to a height unexam- 
pled in the history of the world. 

I have thus given a summary account of the de- 
cline of the French power in the peninsula of India, 
without concealing the causes which led to that 
^event* Unhappily tliis is not the last reverse of 
K2 



114 



VOYAGE IN THE 



our fortunes which my pen will have to retrace : 
I shall have occasion hereafter to take a view of 
Bengal, where it will be seen, that the interests of 
France were managed neither with more ability, 
nor more success. 

Having finished my business at Pondicherry, I 
left that place for Bengal. As 1 had broken one 
cable at the Sechelles, and another at Pondicherry, 
it was necessary to provide myself with a new one, 
to encounter the tides of the Ganges. I could find, 
however at this last place neither cable, nor the 
materials for making one, nor workmen. Madras 
was the nearest port at which I could furnish my- 
self, and I accordingly determined to take that place 
in ray way, for the purpose. 

This town is one of the three capitals of the Eng- 
lish in India. The authority of the council estab- 
lished there extends over all the possessions of the 
company on the peninsula, eastward of the Gauts ; 
but it is subordinate to that of Calcutta, the residence 
of the governor-generaL 

Madras, properly so called, is a very large town, 
surrounded by a ditch, and a sort of wall, falling in 
some places into ruins, but sufficient to resist a sur- 
prise, or a sudden attack of cavalry, which is no 
small advantage; for in war the light cavalry of the 
natives, called loiiti, are the most audacious free- 
booters in the world, burning and plundering. indis- 
criminately every place that falls in their way. Ma- 
dras is thus protected from their attacks ; and, in 
case of siege, every thing of value is removed into 
the citadel, called Fort St. George. 

This fortress, whioh I examined but very imper- 
fectly, is separated from the town by an esplanade 
outside the glacis : it stands on the sea-shore, and 
presents six fronts towards the land, as well as I 



INDIAN OCEAN* 



115 



can recollect, for my notes do not mention this 
particular. The fort, having been built at several 
times, is of a very irregular construction ; not in re- 
gard to the polygon, but in the plan of the fronts, 
which are almost all different froai each other. 
That towards the north east is on the Italiao model 
of Sardi. Its opposite, on the south-west, is accord- 
ing to the plan of the chevalier De Ville. Some of 
the bastions have retired flanks, and others not: 
the flanks of the northern bastions are casemated. 
This side is defended by a strong counter guard ; 
the ditches are excellent, with a cunttte in the 
middle ; the counter way is good, and is counter- 
mined, but I do not know whether the chambers of 
the mines extend beyond the summit of the glacis, 
nor how far the galleries are carried ; and in the 
ditches there are neither caponiers nor tenailles. 
All the works are well-faced with brick and in 
complete repair ; the covered way is palisaded, and 
carefully provided with traverses ; the barriers and 
palisadoes are well closed and kept in good condi- 
tion ; the depots of arms are spacious ; and the cit- 
adel of Madras, with a good garrison, might hold out 
in Europe against an army of 30,000 men, for 
twenty days after the trenches were opened. As 
this fortress it intended, in case of siege, for the re- 
treat of all the servants of the company, it is neces- 
sarily filled with houses ; which gives it a dark and 
unpleasant appearance. On this account the Eng- 
lish do not reside in it ; even the governor lives in 
the country, and the rest of the English follow his 
example. They repair in the morning to the fort 
for the transaction of business, and rem tin there 
till three o'clock in the afternoon, when they return* 
and the place seems deserted. Even the theatre is 
in the country ; so that the ground to a considers*- 



118 



VOYAGE IN THE 



ble distance round Madras presents to the view a 
multitude of gardens, spread over an extent so great, 
as to prevent persons who reside at the opposite ex- 
tremities from visiting each other, unless on horse- 
back or in carriages ; the palanquins in many instan- 
ces would be insufficient for the purpose. Same of 
these gardens are extremely beautiful, and the hous- 
es are in genera! elegant. 

The position of, Fort St. George is equally for- 
tunate with that of Pondicheny, and is in like 
manner strengthened on the south side by a river, 
that washes the extremity of the glacis. Over this 
river is a handsome bridge of bricks. The west 
side is protected by an inundation, which the fort 
can at any time command, by means of a sluice sit- 
uated at the beginning of the glacis, and defended 
by the covered way. The northern side, as at Pon- 
dicheny, is the only side open to an attack. 

The power of the English in this country, how r - 
ever, was not always supported by so formidable a 
bulwark. The present fortress indeed is impreg- 
nable to the Indians ; but the sight of the old fort 
will give an idea of the feebleness of the first estab- 
lishments on the coast, and of the slender beginnings 
from which the English rose to their present great- 
ness. 

This was a square building, which is now in the 
middle of the fort, and in point of size is not equal 
even to the present depot of arms. It has been 
converted into a house, in which the different of- 
fices of the company are established. Fort St. 
George contains a church of the English persua- 
sion : no other religion indeed is tolerated in the 
citadel. An elegant structure too has lately been 
erected, intended for an exchange. The great 
hall, decorated with portraits of lord Cornwallis 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



217 



and general Meadoxvs, is worthy the attention of 
travellers. Madras is already numbered in the list 
of places celebrated for the surwptuopsjiess of their 
public establishments. The posts for the convey- 
ance of letters, called tapaL, are well managed ; 
while two newspapers, a national lottery, a theatre, 
and a ball-room, raise it to a rivalry with those 
towns, which are the scenes of luxury and refine- 
ment. 

The Black Town is what is properly called Ma- 
dras and even the Indians still give it the name of 
Madras-Patnam. This ' addition of patnam or pa- 
tam is applicable only to capital towns, though 
some of very inferior rank still retain it ; which is 
owing to such places having declined from their 
ancient splendor, or to the name having been ap- 
plied by the Indians at a time when they were ac- 
customed to behold nothing superior. The Black 
Town exhibits only a spectacle of filth and dirt ; 
none of the streets are either paved, or even cover- 
ed with sand, but have a soil of black earth, w hich, 
mixing with the water, forms large collections of 
stinking mud, that engender infection, and allow a 
free passage only to carnages. 

The Indians have a vehicle of this kind that is 
peculiar to themselves, and which, in my account 
of their machines, I forgot to mention. Much 
praise indeed is not due for the invention : it ex- 
hibits a whimsical and awkward appearance ; the 
wheels are extremely low, and upon the axle-tree 
are laid two beams, forming a small cross, to the ex- 
tremities of w hich are fixed four upright posts, sup- 
porting an extravagantly large bead or canopy. 
This little nook, as it may be called, is entirely op- 
en on three of the sides* and inclosed behind only 
with a piece of cloth : it will scarcely admit two 



118 



VOYAGE IN THE 



persons, but one may be tolerably at ease, by the 
help of cushions, upon which he is obliged to sit 
with his legs bent under him. The carriage is 
drawn by two oxen abreast, and has a number of 
small bells fastened to it. It is seldom used in 
towns ; but the rich and superior class of the na- 
tives employ it in their joumies to different parts 
of the country. 

The black population of Madras is very consider- 
able, exceeding even that of Pondicherry. There 
are several pagodas in the town, some mosques, an 
Armenian church, and a Portuguese one, of which 
the service is performed by Capuchins. These 
monks are subject to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction 
of the bishop of St. Thomas, a small village at the 
distance of a league southward of Fort St. George-; 
and both this prelate and the bishop of Pondicher- 
ry, who belongs to the mission of the French Jesuits, 
are suffragans of the bishop of Goa. The present 
bishop of St. Thomas is a negro,- or at feast is de- 
scended from an Indian family allied to a Portu- 
guese ; he was born in the country, and is of a mu- 
latto colour. 

The preference which the metropolitan bishop 
of Goa, who is himself a Portuguese, thus exclusive- 
ly shows io the priests of every description who are 
connected with his own countrymen, has had the 
effect of introducing into the religious rites of that 
mission ail the im? turner v of the Indian idolatry. 
It is only -among the French Jesuits, and in the pa- 
rochial church of Pondicherry, that the-cathoiic re- 
ligion is practised with thc\deeonmi due to it ; the 
other churches- exhibit only a species of burlesque 
entertainments. This has perhaps arisen from ail 
idea of making religious impressions upon the In- 
dians through the medium -of external objects ; but 



INDIAN OCEAN. 119 



1 did not observe that the Jesuits, who have not de- 
parted from the simplicity and decency observed in 
the European worship, are less successful in making 
proselytes, than those who have most eagerly given 
into these extravagancies. I hapeyed to be at Ma- 
dras in passion- week, and was disgusted at seeing 
the majestic and awful solemnities prescribed on 
this occasion, degraded by ridiculous farces. The 
tragedy of the death of Jesus Christ, and his descent 
from the cross, was performed in the church* The 
latter incident was represented by men in the Turk- 
ish dress, who ascended ladders, and brought down 
the figure of a corpse, well executed in point of 
sculpture, and of which the joints being moveable, 
and their bend natural, the effect was so strong up- 
on the women who were present, that I perceived 
some of them to faint. The Blacks then accom- 
panied the corpse to (he grave, amidst tfie noise of 
the same instruments as the Indians use at their pa- 
godas and in their -processions ; thus reducing the 
ceremonies of our holy religion to a level with the 
absurdities of idofators. 

Though the number of English inhabitants in the 
presidency of Madras be great, they are all includ- 
ed in three classes ; the military, the merchants, 
and those in civil employments under the company ; 
but the bulk of the population consists of Blacks : 
there are no European laborers. An individual of 
the profession of the law, endowed with an active 
and enterprising mind, a diligence not to be dis- 
couraged, and a perseverance that might be mistak- 
en for obstinacy ; a man, in short, formed for the 
accomplishment of great undertakings, if properly 
supported — the late Mr. Popham, is the first, and 
hitherto the only person, who has attempted the 
establishment of a plantation in this country* Of 



120 



VOYAGE IN THE 



all the productions of the soil, the cultivation of cot- 
ton appeared to him best suited to the natural in- 
dolence of the Indians, the labor it exacts requir- 
ing more attention than vigor. With these views, 
he formed* with much trouble and expense, a con- 
siderable plantation two leagues to the north of 
Madras : but with all his arrangements, and the 
pains he em ployed to provide a supply of water for 
the soil, his establishment in the year 1794 had not 
repaid him even the sums which he had laid out 
upon it. Should hit example, however, be follow- 
ed, his successors, avoiding his faults, and finding 
the Blacks a little more habituated, to labor, may 
embark in a similar speculation with less expense, 
and make it turn to better account. Whether it 
arose from any defect in the methods pursued by 
Mr. Popham, or from the nature of the ground he 
had chosen, I am unable to say ; but his plants were 
weak, and the cotton meagre and short. It is not 
probable, however, that in a project like this he 
will meet with imitators, those who have money 
finding it more profitable and less troublesome to 
employ it in the manufactures of the country. It 
would likewise be exposed to a serious disadvantage 
from a competition with the Blacks, who, obtaining 
their cotton with infinitely less trouble, leaving it 
to the spontaneous operation of nature, and being 
freed besides by their habits from superfluous wants, 
and having made no advances for which they look 
for return, would always be able to sell it at an in- 
ferior price. There was another defect in the rot- 
ton produced in this way, which was not only short 
in itself, but rendered more so by cleaning it iu the 
mil!. As labor fc so cheap in the coir try, it would 
be much more adviseable to have the cotton picked 
by the hand, as it would thus not be broken by the 



INDIAN" OCEAN. 



121 



action of the cylinder, and would be consequently 
in better condition for spinning. 

The skill of the Indians in the article of spinning 
is well known ; the delicate textures with which 
they furnish us are a proof of it. Some cotton is 
spun so exquisitely fine, that the force of the air 
alone is sufficient to break it ; in this case it is 
worked over the steam of boiling water, which, by 
moistening the cotton, renders it more ductile, and 
Jess liable to break, than when it is dry. 

Struck with admiration of their dexterity in these 
arts, M. de Suffrein conceived and executed the de- 
sign of removing several families of them to Malta, 
to form a colony which might instruct the natives 
of that island in the manufactures of India. This 
enterprise, however, did not answer the end that 
was expected : the unhappy subjects of it, finding 
themselves in a foreign land, among a people with 
whose manners and customs they were wholly un- 
acquainted, lost every thought but that of returning 
to their country, and left in their new settlement 
scarcely a vestige of their transitory abode. 

At Madras very handsome handkerchiefs of a 
large checked pattern, excellent in the coloring, 
and of peculiar fineness, are fabricated. Manu- 
factories lor this article were originally established 
by the Dutch, at a small settlement which they pos- 
sess four leagues further northward, called Palliaca* 
ia. The beauty of these handkerchiefs soon bring- 
ing them into repute, and rendering them objects of 
general request, the English erected similar manu- 
factories at Madras ; but the former retained their 
superiority, and were universally preferred. Impa- 
tient of a rival in any undertaking, the English spar* 
ed neither pains nor expense in this competition, and 
by dint of their exertions were able at last to give to 



122 



TOYAGE IN THE 



their handkerchiefs a degree of beauty and excel- 
lence scarcely inferior to those of Palliacata. Not 
satisfied with attaining this point, they resolved on 
the destruction of the original manufactories ; and, 
in the means they employed for the accomplishment 
of their end, the pre-eminence of their commercial 
genius was manifest. With an unanimity, the result 
of a refined policy, and understanding the art of in- 
curring a temporary loss, that would be attended 
with an indemnification in the sequel, they sudden- 
ly lowered the price of their handkerchiefs twenty 
per cent. This measure immediately turned the 
balance of trade in their favor. The Dutch, sup- 
posing their rivals to make this reduction in conse- 
quence of improvements or economy in the mode 
of manufacturing the article, or by an establishment 
on a greater scale, or perhaps by obtaining on bet- 
ter terms the raw materials, made every effort to do 
the same ; but they found a loss where they suppos- 
ed their rivals to have a profit, and were obliged at 
last to abandon the attempt altogether, without so 
much as suspecting the artifice by which they had '? 
been duped. The morkraen, who were thus thrown 
out of employ, were immediately engaged by the 
successful party at Madras, who no sooner found 
themselves the sole masters of this valuable branch 
of commerce, than they gradually raised the price 
of the handkerchiefs, so as liberally to repay them 
for the momentary loss to which they had submit- 
ted. 

Since this reverse of fortune, Palliacata, which 
had acquired a degree of animation, has been reduc- 
ed to a state of complete inactivity : a single ves- 
sel only goes there ,once a year for some bales of 
merchandize,, which the Dutch company orders to 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



123 



be provided, and which constitutes the whole com- 
merce ©f the district. 

The approaches to Madras are uncommonly 
magnificent, particularly the great road to the west 
of Fort St. George : the avenues, planted with four 
rows of trees, majestically announce the residence 
of no inferior power. A stranger, in entering by 
this road, conceives the most exalted ideas of the 
place ; but they are soon changed when he arrives 
at his inn, if this name may be given to two miser- 
able huts in the Black Town, and a house scarcely 
superior to them in the fort. These inns can fur- 
nish no better accommodation than a vile bed plac» 
ed upon a couch or a form in a large room, in 
which the guests are obliged to lie indiscriminately 
together, after the table is removed on which they 
have supped. 

The trade of Madras is still more completely in 
the hands of the Blacks than that of Pondicherry, 
the concerns being more extensive and more lucra- 
tive, and the sales more brisk. The European 
merchant entirely neglects the minute details, and 
looks only at the abstract of the accounts given him 
by his dobachi : a negligence perfectly suited to 
the manner in which he lives, at a distance from 
the spot where his affairs are conducted, which he 
visits only once a- day, and that not regularly, to be- 
stow upon them two or three hours* attention. 

The English company calls itself the ally and 
protector of the nabob of the Carnatic. It has 
built for him a magnificent palace at a short distance 
from Fort St. George, where it retains him in its 
power, and dictates to him its will, concealing the 
gilt fetters in which he is held by the honor with 
which it invests him. The semblance of authority 
is still preserved to this prince, the laws which the 



124 



YOYAGE IN THE 



company imposes upon his subjects beiftg promul- 
gated in his name ; while his real weakness is such 
as renders it impossible to free himself from the 
yoke under which he bends. Like another Mon- 
tezuma, obliged to kiss the hand that oppresses him, 
he is merely an instrument to serve the purpose of 
the company as to the Indians, whom a sentiment 
of respect for the person of their prince retains m 
their allegiance. The .English are the real mon- 
arch?, and reign in the room of the nabob, whom 
.they compensate for this state of degradation, with 
the vain exterior of a mock sovereignty, which he 
displays at Madras in an English equipage : a lux- 
ury new in an Asiatic prince, and which he has 
bought at the- expense of his crown. 

The navigation of the Indians is still very defect- 
ive. That their ships are bad is not from the 
want of excellent materials. The teak wood grows 
in abundance, and is equal to the oak of Europe. 
Their vessels are awkward in their form, and are 
put together with little solidity : they are scarcely 
ever caulked ; and if they were not coated with a 
composition made for this purpose, some of them 
would not be able to float. This substance is a 
mixture of lime and fish-oil ; it adheres so closely 
to the planks of the ship, that it fills all the crevices, 
and effectually prevents the water from penetrating, 
It is called by the Indians galgat. 

They have another preparation called sarangousti 9 
which they spread over the heads of the nails and 
joints of the timbers. Ii is made of dry pitch and 
fish-oil, which are beaten together till the mixture 
assumes the consistency of a soft paste ; in this state 
it is applied, and it gives such extraordinary hard- 
ness as to turn the edge of the best tempered in- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



125 



struraents. These two compositions cannot be too 
strongly recommended to European mariners. 

The Indian vessels are called parias. If their 
hull be defective, the manner of rigging them is not 
less so. The masts are of teak, and are extremely 
heavy ; the ropes are of cocoa-hair, which they call 
kaire ; and they have few blocks and sails. Act 
cordingly, though some of the vessels are so large 
as to amount even to six hundred tons, they are 
only adapted for short voyages, which they accom- 
plish with the aid of the monsoons. They are suf- 
ficiently numerous to perform the whole carrying 
business between the coast and Bengal. Their usu- 
al cargo is salt and rice. The greater navigation, 
from coast to coast, is made by vessels of European 
construction. 

Exclusively of the maritime trade between the 
coasts of India and that of China, the English mer- 
chants engage in smuggling adventures to the Mo- 
luccas. The profit of this trade is immense, and 
is" proportioned to the dangers that are risked. The 
ships employed in the voyage must be able to con- 
tend w ith a Dutch sloop of eighteen guns, stationed 
as a guard-ship off those islands. On approaching 
the coast, the inhabitants, who are accustomed to 
this traffic, bring by stealth to the vessel under sail 
the spices which they have to dispose of, and which 
they barter at a very low rate. As no satisfaction 
could be obtained for any outrage they might at- 
tempt, and no application could be made to the 
Dutch company for redress, the crews of the vessels 
employed in this trade never treat with the natives 
without being armed. 

The geography of the peninsula experiences so 
many variations, from the successive conquests and 
usurpations which are continually altering the 
L 2 



126 



VOYAGE IN THE 



boundaries of the different states, that it cannot be 
determined with any certainty ; a correct account 
©f it now would no longer be so a year hence. We 
may venture, however, to divide the country into 
provinces ; of which the chief are Trevancore, the 
Deccan, the Carnatic with Arcot, Madura, Tanjore, 
Mysore, Golconda, Bisnagar, the Four Sircars, and 
the territory of the Mahrattas. All these provinces 
were formerly dependant governments under the 
Mogul Empire, each having its nabob, and subah. 
But these viceroys, inspired with presumption and 
the assurance of impunity from the want of energy 
in the court of Delhi, conceived the project of ren- 
dering themselves independent. The imbecility of 
the reigning emperor completed their success. 
Many of them, become sovereigns, disdained the ti- 
tle of nabob, and assumed that of sultan or king, 
which was more flattering to their pride. The 
governor of Golconda alone has retained his for- 
mer title of nizam. Hyder Ally at first contented 
himself with that of khan ; his son Tippoo, when 
he met his destruction, had that of sultan ; the 
heads of the provinces of Trevancore and Tanjore 
have taken the title of king. The Mogul emperor 
however still preserves an ideal dominion over these 
princes* but it consists merely in some exterior 
marks of respect which they pay to him, and some 
warrants which they occasionally solicit, to sanction 
their successive usurpations, in the same manner as 
the European powers were used to apply to the see 
of Rome for bulls, to convey to them an investiture 
of new possessions. The emperor, who has lost all 
his real authority, never rejects such opportunities 
ef performing an act of sovereignty, and always 
complies with their wilL 
Among the provinces which thus threw off the 



INDIAN OCEAN'* 



127 



yoke of this monarch, the Mahrattas are the only 
people who, acting upon principles of independ- 
ence, hare abjured the authority of a master. They 
have accordingly established id the northwest quar- 
ter of the peninsula a formidable republic. They 
have a numerous cavalry, and their influence in the 
affairs of India, since one of their chiefs, a man of 
high reputation, filled the post of prime minister to 
the emperor, has greatly increased. This officer is 
known by the name of Sandjah, which he has ren- 
dered famous. His credit at the court of Delhi 
was the greater, from the extreme incapacity of the 
emperor. The power of the sovereign was equalled 
by that of the minister, who, constant in his attach- 
ment to his country, forwarded its interests with 
his master, and brought him to approve of its revolt. 
The alliance of this republic is of the greatest impor- 
tance in the political system of India; and the Eng- 
lish accordingly spare no efforts or sacrifices to ob- 
tain it. It is to the faithful attachment of the Mah- 
rattas, who joined their forces to those of the com- 
pany, that lord Coruwallis is indebted for his victo- 
ries over Tippoo. That prince, believing himself 
sufficiently powerful to conquer alone, disdained to 
ask for their assistance ; not foreseeing that such a 
neglect would give him one more enemy to contend 
with. The junction of the Mahratta army turned 
the tide of conquest to the side of the English, who 
had before been repulsed from Seringapatam with 
loss, and induced the necessity of that disadvan- 
tageous peace, which was the prelude to the total 
r^in of Tippoo. 

After staying some days at Madras, I sailed for 
Bengal. In the bay of Basore, I was opposed by 
mists and rain, accompanied with a calm, which 
forced me to anchor iu twelve-fathom water. As 



128 



TOYAGE IN THE 



the coast is extremely low, the bottom rises so grad- 
ually, that a depth of ten or twelve fathom in the 
bay is at least twelve leagues from the entrance of 
the river ; between which and the beginning of the 
flats, it rises but three fathom. The pilots go no 
further out than to the depth of ten fathom, as be- 
yond this there is no danger. They were still 
therefore at a great distance from me ; and, though 
I fired repeated signals, none of them came. On 
the second day, the weather having cleared up a 
little, I bent my sails, and steered to the north- 
ward, but not without great anxiety respecting the 
shoals, with which the mouth of this river abounds, 
and with the situation of which I was so little ac- 
quainted, that, long before I was near them, I was 
every instant apprehensive of striking. I at last 
found the pilots at the beginning of the shallows, 
about half a league from the first buoy. These 
shallows are formed by sand-banks, which project 
from the mouth of the river to a great distance in- 
to the sea. They are the more dangerous, as there 
is nothing to indicate their approach, and no land 
in sight to afford any observations for avoiding them : 
it is necessary to sound carefully every half-minute, 
and even this would be insufficient in sailing with a 
favorable wind and tide, as the vessel would be 
aground before the line could announce the danger. 
To prevent accidents of this sort, buoys are placed 
at regular distances in the track of the channels, 
which the rapid stream of the Ganges has formed 
in these banks .: the buoys mark the course which 
the pilots should keep. The same expedient is 
adopted in the river Elbe in Germany, the mouth 
of which presents nearly the same difficulties. 

Ti e river, upon the banks of which the Europe- 
an settlements in Bengal are situated, is not the 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



129 



Ganges, and is therefore very improperly called by 
that name ; it is the river Hoogly, so denominated 
from (he small Indian village which first contributed 
to render it important. It takes its rise in the 
Ganges, and may thus be strictly considered as an 
inferior branch of that river, the principal bed of 
which runs to the eastward of the Hoodly, and 
empties itself into the sea by numerous months near 
Chaligarn. 

The Hoogly is extremely wide at its entrance : in 
ascending it, the land is not seen till we have ad- 
vanced a considerable distance ; the banks of the 
river first appear in sight at Cadjery. The distance 
between them at the end of the shallows is very 
great : indeed, when we arrive at this point, we are 
still in the main, and the pilots, who are stationed 
there to take charge of the ships that arrive, are 
provided with vessels capable of encountering the 
violence of a tempest and a heavy swell : they are 
stout brigs, and are calculated for every sort of ma- 
noeuvre. The English company had six of these 
ships on an old construction, and has added six oth- 
ers, built at Bombay. These last are sloops of six- 
teen guns, and are capable of serving on occasions 
as ships of war. Thus the English have twelve pi- 
lot-vessels ; and, before the war, the French and 
Dutch had one each. These vessels lie at anchor at 
the outer extremity of the shallows. As soon as 
they are perceived, the ship that arrives fires a gun, 
and hangs out a flag at the head of her foretop gal- 
lant-mast, when one of them gets under way to 
meet her. If she proves to be only a small vessel, 
whose draught of water is not so considerable as to 
require much skill in bringing her in, one of the of- 
ficers of the pilotbrig takes charge of her, and the 
superior returns to his station, But if it is. a ship 



130 



VOYAGE TN Till? 



of such burden as to demand the attention of the 
master-pilot, he goes on board of her himself, his 
brig sailing before to point out the track and com- 
municate the soundings, which is done in the day- 
time by flags, and in the night by lights. These 
precautions are all indispensable, and, though a mul- 
titude of accidents are prevented, they are not always 
sufficient wholly to guard against them. The tides 
of the Ganges are prodigiously rapid. The chan- 
nels, which the stream of this river has formed in 
the sand banks at its mouth, are in some places not 
more than half a league wide* In entering them 
during the south-west monsoon, the force of the 
wind and tide together will carry a vessel at the 
rate of six leagues an hour ; in this slate a single 
false stroke of the helm will throw her too much to 
one side, and, by losing the exact direction of the 
channel, expose her to I he greatest danger, often to 
the inevitable fate of being wrecked. With the 
north-east monsoon, on the other hand, the entrance 
of the river is more tedious and more laborious, but 
less dangerous. As the wind in this case is always 
contrary, it is necessary in these channels to tack 
continually ; of consequence, vessels sailing across 
can make but little way, and the tide carries them 
to their destination. In executing this manoeuvre 
little skill is required in the pilot ; it is merely nec- 
essary to put about, whenever the lead announces, 
four fathom and a half of water. The depth of 
seven fathom denotes the middle of the channel. 
By continuing this method from side to side, the 
object is finally attained without much risk. 

Our approach to Cadjery, which is on the left 
bank of the river, may be known by a house, stand- 
ing on an eminence, belonging to the English com- 
pany, which keeps a resident there. From this 



INDIAN" OCEAN. 



place is seen the point called, from the nature of its 
shore, Mud-point, on the opposite bank. This pouit 
forms the southern extremity of the woods of Son- 
dry, famous for the enormous size of the timers 
which are found there, and with which they are 
filled. This species is the royal tiger, or tiger prop- 
erly so called, of Buffon. These animals are ex- 
tremely formidable by their strength and activity. 
Some^f them are as large as oxen. Their coat is 
variegated with stripes of reddish yellow and black, 
and is whitish under the belly. They are so eager 
and ferocious in pursuit of their prey, that they have 
been known to throw themselves into the water, and 
swim to attack boats on the river. 

It is customary in passing Cadjery to hire boats 
with oars to facilitate the principal manoeuvres nec- 
essary in proceeding up the river. Mine being a 
heavy ship, I employed twelve of these, which ac- 
companied me as far as the roadstead opposite these 
woods ; where, while I was at anchor, they fasten- 
ed themselves to my vessel behind, as if, in the sea 
phrase, they were in tow. So many boats present- 
ing a considerable resistance to the tide, and acting 
with violence upon my cable, the pilot ordered 
them to leave me, and to range themselves aloiig 
the side of the river, till the current being abated, 
he should call them. 

When they had repaired to this new position, 
they unfortunately perceived on the ^hore a quantity 
of dry wood, consisting of branches of dead trees, 
As this is an article of sale at Calcutta, they land- 
ed to cut some of it and load their boats. They 
were at the distance of about three hundred yards 
from the vessel, and had scarcely begun their work 
whm we saw them running to the waterside with 
the strongest marts of terror. This was not with- 



132 



VOYAGE IN THE 



out cause, they were pursued by a tiger, of the size 
of a common calf: we saw it rush out of the wood, 
and seize upon the hindmost of these men, whom 
it carried off in an instant, without meeting with 
the slightest opposition from the unfortunate being 
himself, or his companions. The brother alone of 
the victim appeared afflicted at the event, and did 
not again leave his boat ; but the rest immediately 
returned to their employment on shore, persuaded 
that the tiger was satisfied;, and that there was now 
no danger : this is their general belief. 

Notwithstanding the superiority which these 
creatures possess over human beings by their 
strength, ferocity, and the arms with which nature 
has supplied them, a certain instinct seems to tell 
them, that men by their intellectual faculties are 
still more formidable than they : hence they avoid 
inhabited and cultivated places ; or if they some- 
times visit them, it is only when compelled by hun- 
ger. In ascending the river Hoogly, the village of 
Coulpy is the last settlement of the Indians on the 
right bank, and the tigers seldom appear so far up. 
But between this place and the Clive-Islands they 
are so numerous, that they are sometimes seen in 
troops on the banks. These islands have been late- 
ly brought into a state of improvement for the cul- 
tivation of sugar. The clearing of the ground was 
attended with the loss of a great number of Indians, 
who were destroyed by these ferocious animals ; 
for, in cutting down the wood with which the face 
of the country was covered, they were disturbed in 
their retreats, and rushed upon the labourers. 
What will appear extraordinary, these men never 
attempted to defend themselves, though their num- 
ber sometimes amounted to five hundred... They 
believed, that the tiger would be satisfied with car- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



133 



rying off one, and would then cease to appear : of 
consequence, whenever they perceived one ap- 
proaching, they ran off in disorder, every one mak- 
ing the best of his way, and trusting to the swift- 
ness of his flight, leaving the slowest to be seized 
and carried off ; after which they returned to their 
work. This scene was repeated every day without 
increasing the courage of the Blacks ; and these 
continual ravages would not have been attended 
with the destruction of one of these monsters, if 
they had not at last been opposed by a few Europe- 
ans, who superintended the works, and were we!! 
armed. They have now wholly deserted these isl- 
ands, which no longer afford them a retreat, and 
have settled on the continent, and augmented the 
number of those which infest the woods of Sondry. 

Continuing to ascend the river, we arrive at Coui- 
py, or Port-Diamond, as it is called by the English, 
who have provided here cormore for their ships ; 
these are large anchors fixed in the ground, to which 
their vessels are fastened with more security than 
by their proper moorings. 

The English government has in this place port- 
officers, a large bakehouse, a shambles, and hospi- 
tals for its marine. A market is held here, in which 
the crews of vessels may find in abundance every 
refreshment which the country produces. 

Above this port the bed of the river turns to the 
left, leaving to the right a very dangerous sand-bank. 
At a short distance further is the mouth of a large 
river, improperly called the Old Ganges. It is not 
till we pass the confluence of these waters, that the 
borders of the Hoogly begin to be picturesque. Its 
immense width is here reduced to that of an ordina- 
ry lar ge river, and affords the pleasant prospegt of 
both banks. 

M 



J 34 



VOYAGE IN THE 



A little higher on the right is Fulta, a Dutch pos« 
session, accustomed formerly, in the prosperous days 
of that company, to receive ships of considerable 
burden ; but reduced now to so low a state, as to 
see only a single galliot, sent annually to take in 
some bales of goods, prepared in the settlement of 
Chiusura. This galliot is sometimes accompanied 
by a smaller vessel ; and this forms at present the 
whole extent of the Dutch commerce in Bengal. 

The establishment on shore consists of two hous- 
es ; of which one is an inn, built partly of bricks, 
and the other the residence of the commandant. 
This officer is a negro charged by the company with 
the care of displaying their flag on a tree, in the 
manner of a mast. This house is still less splendid 
than the inn, for it is constructed entirely of straw. 
'iThe Indian town however is very considerable, and 
has a bazar, which is well supplied. This small set- 
tlement resembles, in one point, all the colonies be- 
longing to the Butch on the Ganges ; that of being 
the scene of the most unrestrained debauchery. 
This perfectly suits the disposition of the sailors, 
who here recruit the number of unhappy females 
that ao to Pert Diamond to administer to the pleas- 
ure of the English crews, which are numerous, to 
contribute to fill their hospitals, and often to leave 
their lovers sad tokens of remembrance during their 
life. 

My pilot having anchored near this village, I was 
desirous of going on shore to take a walk ; but, as 
the current was too strong for me to reach the town, 
I landed in an adjacent meadow. The first thing 
that met my view was a pangolin, which I pursued 
to the entrance of its retreat, when I made a stroke 
at it with .my sword which broke between two of 
the scales. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



I then proceeded towards the village, passing 
through a very thick wood, across which was a path 
about three feet wide, I was preceded by a pion, 
and followed by two boys, whom the sircar of one 
of my friends, who had expected my arrival, had 
sent to meet me. To my surprise the pion sudden- 
ly made a long leap, and ran off as fast as he could : 
I advanced to learn the cause, and was equally ter- 
rified myself on seeing an enormous serpent, that 
Jay stretched across the path in which I was walk- 
ing. Its length was so immense, that I couid see 
neither its head nor its tail, which were concealed 
in the bushes. Its colour was brown ; it crept very 
slowly along, and appeared to be of the size of an 
eighteen-inch cable ; that is to say, as nearly a3 I 
could judge, about eighteen inches in circumference, 
I followed the example of my soldier, and without 
affecting a courage, which would have been the 
more ill-timed, as my sword at best but a sorry 
weapon in such extremity, was already broken, 
jumped over this monster, and proceeded with a 
little more alertness than the usual pace. The two 
boys behind me, alarmed at seeing a pion fly, and 
even an European follow him with tolerable quick- 
ness, ran back, and did not rejoin me till the next 
day on board my vessel. 

After ascending some leagues higher on the riv- 
er, we find on the right bank the anchoring ground 
of Mayapour. This place was formerly to the 
French, what Fulta was to the Dutch : it was the 
road where such vessels of the French company 
stopped, that were unable to proceed to Chander- 
nagore for want of the necessary depth of water. 
This place also has undergone the same fate as 
Fulta, in proportion as the affairs of France have 
declined in this quarter. It is at present even in a 



136 



VOYAGE IN THE 



worse condition than that village ; for it has now no 
European houses, and no flag ; a few huts and a 
miserable bazar scarcely bear testimony to its for- 
mer existence. No traces recal the idea of the 
commerce of this place during the splendor of the 
French company : a striking example of the vicissi- 
tudes of human institutions ! Mayapour was a port 
of extreme trade ; and vessels of fifteen hundred 
tons burden frequented its road in great numbers, 
dispensing abundance and luxury, when Port-Dia- 
mond did not as yet exist. At present, the latter 
is flourishing, while the former is deserted, and of- 
fers nothing but its name to remind the traveller of 
its ancient opulence : the common destiny of all 
the French establishments, which a constant succes- 
sion of adverse events has condemned to oblivion. 

At last, after proceeding a few leagues above 
Mayapour, the gardens and sumptuous palaces, 
which meet the eye, announce our approach to the 
capital of the East, the metropolis of the English 
empire in Asia, and the finest colony in the world. 
The magnificence of the edifices, the luxury which 
has converted the banks of the river into delightful 
gardens, and the costliness and elegance of their 
decorations, all denote the opulence and power of 
the conquerors of India and the masters of the 
Ganges. 

The windings of this river conceal in some degree 
the town of Calcutta, which we do not perceive till 
we are within a short distance of it. Fort- William, 
the finest fortress that exists out of Europe, presents 
itself immediately to the sight, which it astonishes 
by its grandeur and the splendour of the buildings, 
that are seen above its ramparts. The houses, 
which form the first front of the tower to the end 
■ of the glacis, are so many magnificent palaces, some 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



of them having a peristyle of four- and- twenty pil- 
lars. AH these structures, disposed in an irregular 
line through a space of more than a league, form an 
inconceivably striking prospect, and give to the 
town a most noble and majestic appearance. 

Calcutta is the only European settlement of any 
importance on this bank of the Ganges : the other 
nations have fixed on the left side, while the Eng- 
lish alone have preferred the right. Whatever 
were the causes of this preference, the situation is 
ill-chosen. The ground is not sufficiently raised 
above the level of the river, and frequently, in the 
high tides, the esplanade which separates the cita- 
del from the town, Jf not totally inundated, is ai 
least covered with water in different parts so as to be 
impassable. 

The air of Calcutta is by no means healthy, its 
position between the river and a large lake in its 
rear subjecting it to the influence of unwholesome 
exhalations : but the European inhabitants remedy 
this defect by living in the country. There is 
however one inconvenience that cannot be remedied, 
which is the situation of its port. This stands ex- 
actly at the turn of two points, which augment the 
violence of the current in every state of the tide. 
The bar is frequently here of sufficient strength to 
drive the vessels from their moorings. The cur- 
rents being extremely violent, particularly in July 
and August, the time of the melting of the snow 
on the mountains in the interior parts of the coun- 
try, the first effect of the flood-tide at these periods 
is, not only to stop the course of the river, but to 
surmount it with so much force as to requiie a rap- 
id course of its own. Bengal lies so low, that when 
the sea, increased by these torrents, rushes in this 
manner into the bed of the river, its violence is ir- 
M 2 



138 



VOYAGE IN THE 



resistible. The ebb current, meeting -a similar ob- 
stacle, has at first a tendency to raise itself, but the 
flood being impelled with a superior force, gains the 
ascendancy and passes over it. From this shock 
results a very heavy and foaming surge, which (he 
tide pushes before it with a prodigious rapidity, to 
the imminent danger of every boat that is not pru- 
dent enough to keep out of its way. 

This bar has never its full effect, but on one side 
of the river at a time ; and the mischief it occasions 
may be avoided by taking the side on which it is 
weakest, which may easily be perceived. Every 
salient angle in the windings of the river, present- 
ing an obstacle to its progress, throws it towards 
the contrary bank, and it continues thus till repel- 
led by another projection, which turns it again. 
The Indians flock to the borders of the river, impa- 
tient to wet themselves with the water, which they 
believe to be salutary, and which they sprinkle over 
their bodies with devotion, uttering as they do it 
exclamations of joy • 

Calcutta is situated so as to receive the whole 
force of the bar, which sometimes, and especially 
in the spriag tides, is very great To render this 
anchorage as - wretched as possible, it is interspersed 
"with numerous sand-banks, even opposite to the 
fort and the town. The necessary operations of 
the port are thus checked ; and when the depth of 
the river is reduced by the ebb, its course, obstruct- 
ed by these impediments, increases in rapidity, and 
occasions innumerable accidents, such as destruction 
of boats, damage of vessels loss of anchors, &c. 

I was witness to an instance of this sort, which 
put the whole anchorage into confusion. The pa- 
rias, which are generally numerous, moor them- 
selves above the European ships, opposite the Biack 



INDIAN OCEAN, 139 

Town. They are usually fastened together, and 
thus present to the current a long line of vessels, of 
which the cables act together. This practice is not 
unaccompanied with risk, but it prevents the vessels 
from yawing, that is, swinging from one eide to the 
other, tracing an arc of a circle, of which the an- 
chor is the centre, and the cable the radius, This 
motion renders the strain upon the cable unequal, 
often drags the anchor, and is the occasion, when 
any other vessel is within the extent of the arc thus 
described, of very serious mischief. In this view 
therefore the practice of fastening these vessels to- 
gether is of advantage. But unfortunately, at the 
time of which I speak, the cable of one of the pa- 
rias at the extremity of the line, parted, and the 
vessel immediately fell athwart the hawse of the 
next. Their cables are generally good, but their 
anchors are abominable: that of the second paria 
gave way, and two were thus adrift. The rest 
followed in succession, and in a quarter of an hour 
they were all in disorder, to the number of a hun- 
dred and fifty at least. In this condition they could 
make no effectual resistance to the current, and 
were driven forcibly against the nearest European 
ships at anchor behind them. The crews of these 
ships encountered them with hatchets, cutting and 
damaging in every way such as fastened on them : 
the number however was too great, the tide threw 
them athwart the hawse of those that were moored, 
thus carrying; away their bowsprits, while the an- 
chors and cables, unequal to such an exertion, also 
gave way. The whole was now a scene of disor- 
der : (he ships mixed with the parias, and nothing 
was heard but the noise of masts and yards break- 
ing. Borne had the precaution to run aground, 
others continued to increase the confusion, from 



140 



VOYAGE IN THE 



which few succeeded in escaping entirely. The di- 
rection of the tide exempted such only as were out 
of the stream ; all the rest shared in the danger. 
Let the reader figure to himself nearly three hun- 
dred vessels turned suddenly adrift., endeavoring to 
grapple with each other, and carried away at the 
same time by the current with a rapidity that was 
sure to be the destruction of all such as should 
strike upon the sandbanks ; let him add to this? 
the cries, oaths, imprecations, and blasphemies of 
the crews of so many nations, speaking different 
languages, without understanding each other, and 
he will have a faint idea of the scene that was then 
before me. Had the vessels that were driven from 
their moorings thrown out the anchors which they 
had still on board, they would all inevitably have 
been lost ; but they had the wisdom to retain them 
till they were clear of their companions ; and, as 
soon as they found themselves free, they anchored 
wherever they could till the return of the tide, or 
assistance should be sent from the port I happen- 
ed to be on board my vessel at the beginning of 
the confusion. I was at anchor in the middle of the 
river, and nearly in the centre of the harbor, in a 
situation in which I could not possibly have avoided 
the general fate, had not a circumstance luckily de- 
termined me upon taking measures to withdraw 
from the peril, which I perceived approaching. A 
laree English ship, removing from the crowd, com- 
pelled m to the only step that could possibly have 
saved me ; for it came towards me with so much 
rapidity, that I had scarcely time to cut my cable 
with an axe, to prevent a rencontre that might have 
proved fata! to us both. I suffered my vessel to 
drift without anchoring again till I got below the 
citadel, to a distance of a mile and a half. Here I 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



141 



moored with two anchors, and remained in safety 
till order was re-established at Calcutta, when I re- 
turned to my station. 

An accident of this kind is the most fortunate 
event that can happen for the officers of th« port. 
They first sell, either of themselves, or by means of 
their Blacks, the anchors, that may be wanted, and 
then take a declaration from each captain, specify- 
ing those which he has lost, their weight and marks, 
a description of the ends of the cables which are 
fastened to them, the spot near whch they may be 
expected to be found, and in short every particular 
that may assist in their recovery, This declaration 
is formally registered, and the captains hear no more 
of the matter. 

I lost five in the course of three weeks ; and I did 
not fail, as to the first two, to make the declarations 
which were required. Each time I had no doubt, 
when I left the office, that the anchor in question 
was as safe as if on board my vessel, and that I 
should certainly have it the moment i claimed it. 
After loosing two, I thought f had a right to demand 
one, and I requested that the first might be raised 
offering at the same time to pay the expenses. 

The person to whom I addressed myself was an 
ingenuous sort of personage, who plundered upon 
principle : he believed, that to regulate his con- 
duct by honor or honesty was merely to be a dupe, 
injuring himself without benefit to any one, for 
that others would continue to cheat if he did 
not. He accordingly laughed at my simplicity, 
and politely advised me to \hlvk no more of my an- 
chors. As the loss however was of i importance to 
me, and it would require a large sum to replace 
them, I was loath to take this advice, and I redoub- 
led my inquiries and complaints. I had to apply 



142 



VOYAGE IN THE 



to the port captain T***, whose honesty was pro- 
verbial : he had amassed in this way a considerable 
fortune, and had since been siezed with scruples 
$8 to the irregular proceedings of the officers 
of the port. JHis conscience did not urge him 
to the restitution of what he had acquired, but 
he wished to prevent others from doing the same. 
This was by no means agreeable to his colleagues, 
who, jealous of all interference in their concerns, 
paid little regard to the commands of an aged cap- 
tain, whose physical and moral activity was very 
-unequal to the ta»k of watching over them ; and thus, 
with all the honesty of their chief, the subalterns 
were knaves. 

Mr. T** # , in the English manner, damning his 
eyes and soul^ swore that my anchors should be 
found and returned to me. The first part of his oath 
was accomplished ; but the second was dispersed by 
the winds, for I never saw my anchors again. He 
very obligingly gave me an order to be supplied with 
a sloop, divers Blacks, and a marine officer, to ena- 
ble me to raise them myself With this I returned 
in high spirits to the office of the port, where, after 
waiting half an hour, a, person carae to speak to me, 
who read the order twice over, and then carried it 
to a second, who also read it and sent it to a fcWrd, 
who was busy, and answered very well. It was 
not till an hour more, that, seeing me resolved to 
wait, this last took off his spectacles, and ap- 
proaching me, inquired my business. I told him 
that I had brought an order from Mr T#^'#, which 
would inform "him. Very well, said lie ; and tak- 
ing op the order, he put on his spectacles, after 
wiping them for some time, read the paper twice, 
returned it to its place, repeated his vary well % and 
turned his back upon me. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



143 



I begged him to give directions on the subject, 
and inform me when I should be furnished with the 
articles mentioned in the paper ; adding, that it 
was a matter of urgency, as my vessel was lying at 
single anchor, and that I had not another on board. 
The fatal very well was all the answer 1 could ob- 
tain. The person to whom 1 bad originally appli- 
ed, and who had advised me to think no more of my 
anchors, now came in, and took up the order ; af- 
ter asking permission of the other, who replied by 
a slight inclination of the head and the two words 
he had used with me : it seemed indeed as if he 
knew no other. At last I was directed to call again 
the next day. 

I immediately provided myself with new anchors 
to insure the safety of my vessel : and, on the mor- 
row, faithful to my appointment, I waited on Mr. 
Very-well, who at this time did not utter a word. 
An apprenticed pilot told me, that he was sent to 
attend me. I left the office without delay, and 
hastened to the sloop that was allotted me, with a 
diver and twenty Blacks. In passing my vessel, I 
took also ten of the best of my crew, and two boats 
of the country, which were tbeu in my employ, 
which I manned with my own people, placing an 
officer in each. Arrived at the spot where I had 
lost my anchor, I endeavored in vain by the assist- 
ance of the men belonging to the port to find them. 
Their aukwardness was so great, and appeared so 
unnatural, that I suspected some trick. I therefore 
ordered my officers in the boats to drag, pointing 
to the place near which I supposed one of the an- 
chors to be sunk, and they found it at the first at- 
tempt. The diver was then sent to examine its sit- 
uation, and fasten to it a rope wilh a sliding knot ; 
but he had scarcely reached the bottom, when the 



144 



TOYAGE IN THE 



log-line which I had employed to drag with lost its 
hold. I now saw that it had been privately order- 
ed, that I should not succeed. My men dragged 
again, and again found the anchor : but while I 
was preparing the slip-knot, the pilot, on pretence 
of assisting me, drew the log-line against the side of 
the sloop, and it broke. We were thus obliged a 
third time to recommence the attempt, and the div- 
er made another fruitless trial to fasten the rope ; 
at last he pretended that the anchor was sunk too 
deep in the mud, and said, that he was too much 
fatigued to dive any more. During these opera- 
tions the flood-tide had been increasing, and it was 
now so strong, that it was necessary to suspend our 
efforts. The pilot agreed to leave the sloop at an- 
chor on the spot, to serve as a mark in resuming 
our attempts on the morrow : to which I consent- 
ed. At day-break however I looked in vain for 
the sloop ; it was no longer there. I hastened to 
the port-officers, and was told, that they were whol- 
ly ignorant what was become of it, and they pre- 
tended to send in every direction to make inquir- 
ies : a trouble they might have saved themselves, 
for they knew perfectly well where it was. On 
the third day, they informed me, that the sloop was 
found, and they added to this information an ac- 
count of the expenses whiclrhad been incurred, and 
which must immediately be paid ; so much a day 
for the sloop, so much for the pilot for so many days, 
so much for the Lascars ditto, so much for the diver 
ditto, so much for port-charges, so much for the 
furniture of the sloop, so much for the cable, which 
broke, so much for the anchor, which was lost in 
consequence, so much for the Blacks who recover- 
ed the vessel, so much for those who brought it 
back to the port, so much tor repairing the damages 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



145 



it had sustained ; in short, there was no end to the 
items, of which the sum total amounted to five hun- 
dred and sixty-seven sicca rupees. It was useless to 
dispute these charges ; the business must be ended 
and the money paid. When I returned to the of- 
ficer for the purpose, one of the clerks pointed with 
his pen to Mr. Verry-well, who took it without say- 
ing a word, cast his eye over the bill, counted the 
rupees, saluted me with a very well, and dismissed 
me ; determined in my heart never to attempt the 
recovery of another anchor, though I should lose 
them by dozens. This instance was enough: I 
had lost in expenses more than the value of the an- 
chor, which [ had dragged for to no purpose, and 
was unable to recover any of the others. 

I complained loudly of this imposition ; but was 
answered only by a shrug of the shoulders, and the 
cold consolation, " It is a sad thing for you, but 
every body must live." In reality foreign vessels 
never recover any thing which is lost in this an- 
chorage. Some English captains, indeed, who are 
favored, may occasionally experience a better treat- 
ment ; but these exceptions are few. The officers 
of the port seize the opportunity of low water to 
raise the anchors that have been lost, and they sell 
them without scruple to whoever may want them. 

I hope to be excused this slight sally of resent- 
ment, which the recollection of the injustice of 
which I have been the spectator and the victim has 
torn from me : I could not resist the impulse, nor 
abstain from the disclosure of such odious practices, 
though at the risque of offending certain individuals 
whom I have avoided naming. It is the last time, 
tiowever, that I shall cite any one before the tribu- 
nal of the reader ; hereafter I shall leave to that of 
their own conscience those who, renouncing every 
N 



146 



VOYAGE IN THE 



sentiment of honor and hospitality, can employ the 
portion of authority with which they are intrusted, 
in robbing at the distance of five thousand leagues 
from their country, the people whom they ought to 
protect. At the extremity of Asia all Europeans 
are countrymen, or at least should consider them- 
selves such. 

The citadel of Calcutta is an octagon, on the first 
plan of Vaubain Five of the faces are regular, 
while the forms of the other three, which front the 
river, are according to the fancy of the engineer, by 
whom the fortress was built. As no approach is 
to be feared on this side, and the citadel can only 
be attacked by water, the river coming up to the 
glacis, it was merely necessary to present to vessels 
making such attempt a superiority of fire, and to 
provide the means of discovering them at a distance, 
in order to disable them the moment they should 
arrive within cannon-shot. These purposes have 
been attained by giving the citadel towards the wa- 
ter the form of a large salient angle, the faces of 
which enfilade the course of the river. From these 
faces the guns continue to bear upon the object, 
till it approaches very near the capital : but then 
they are flanked on each fcide by a front parallel to 
the border of the river, which would fire with great 
effect on vessels lying with their broad sides opposite 
to it. This part is likewise defended by adjoining 
bastions and a counter guard that covers them. The 
five regular fronts are on the land side ; the bas- 
tions have all very salient orillons, behind which 
are retired circular flanks extremely spacious, and 
an inverse double flank at the height of the berme ? 
in the same situation as the tenaille of Belidor. 
This double flank would be an excellent defence, 
and would the better serve to retard the passage of 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



147 



the ditch, as from its form it cannot be enfiladed. 
The orillon preserves it from the effect of ricochet- 
shot, and it is not to be seen from any parallel. The 
assailants must gain possession of the covered way, 
make strong lodgments there, and construct batter- 
ies of a superior force, before they can silence it 8 
for it can only be cannonaded from the counter- 
scarp. The berme opposite the curtain serves as 
a road to it, and contributes to the defence of the 
ditch, like a fausse biaie. The ditch is dry, with a 
cunette in the middle, which receives the water of 
the Ganges by means of two sluices, that are com- 
manded by the fort : the counterscarp aud covered 
way are excellent. From some air-holes which I 
saw in the ramparts, I suppose the master-gallery 
to have been constructed behind the counter-forts of 
the revetement. The glacis are mined, if I may 
judge from the gates or entrances to the galleries 
which I saw at the re-entering angles of the covered 
way, on the side towards the country : every curtain 
is covered with a large half- moon, without flanks or 
bonnet or redoubt ; but the faces mount thirteen 
pieces of artillery each, thus giving to the defence of 
these ravelins a fire of six-and-twenty guns. The 
demi-bastions, which terminate the five regular 
fronts on each side, are covered by a counter-guard, 
of which the faces, like the half-moons, are pierced 
with thirteen embrasures. These counter-guards 
are connected with two redoubts, constructed in 
the place of arms of the adjacent re-entering an- 
gles : the whole is faced and palisadoed with care, 
is kept in admirable condition, and can make a vig- 
orous defence against any army however formida- 
ble. The advanced works are executed on an ex- 
tensive scale, and the angles of the half moons, be- 
ing extremely acute, project a great way into the 



148 



VOYAGE IN THE 



country 9 so as to be in view of each other beyond 
the flanked angle of the polygon, and take the 
trenches in the rear at an early period of the ap- 
proach. 

The name of this citadel is Fort William. It is 
larger and capable of a more regular and scientific 
defence than that of Fort St. George at Madras. It 
is not, like Fort St. George, filled with houses, 
but contains only the buildings that are necessary, 
socfa as the residence of the governor, quarters for 
the officers and troops, and arsenals. Exclusively 
of these, the interior of the fort is perfectly open, 
and offers nothing to the sight but superb grass-plots ? 
gravel walks planted occasionally with trees, balls, 
bombs, cannons, and whatever can give to the place 
a grand, noble, and military appearance. Each 
gale has a house over it destined for the residence 
of a major. 

These houses, like every other in the fort, are so 
many magnificent palaces. At the period of my 
last voyage, the governor was colonel Morgan, who 
fiHed the. station with honor, and behaved to strang- 
ers with great politeness. -Oae day, on leaving 
table, we accompanied him to his closet, where was 
preserved with extraordinary care a superb full- 
length portrait of Lewis XV. in complete armour : 
■it had been taken at Pondicherry, and had thence 
been removed to Bengal. The colonel was eager 
to draw my attention to it. I was pleased with the 
respect that was paid to it, but felt at the same time 
a sentiment of regret at seeing it in the hands of 
our enemies : it seemed as if his majesty was a pris- 
oner of war. This idea recalled strongly to my 
memory the series of our defeats in Asia, and forc- 
ed from me a sigh, which did not excape the gov- 
ernor : but his delicate and constant politeness soon 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



149 



dissipated the melancholy impression which these 
reflections wrought upon my mind. 

The governor general of the English settlements, 
east of the Cape of Good Hope, resides at Calcutta. 
As there is no palace yet built for him, he lives in 
a house on the esplanade opposite the citadel. The 
house is handsome, but by no means equal to what 
it ought to be for a personage of so much impor- 
tance. Many private individuals in the town have 
houses as good ; and if the governor were disposed 
to any extraordinary luxury, he must curb his incli- 
nation for want of the necessary accommodation of 
room. The house of the governor at Pondicherry 
is much more magnificent. 

As we enter the town, a very extensive square 
opens before us, with a large piece of water in the 
middle, for the public use. The pond has a grass- 
plot round it, and the whole is inclosed by a wall 
breast high, with a railing on the top. The sides of 
this inclosure are each nearly five hundred yards iu 
length. The square itself is composed of magnifi- 
cent houses, which render Calcutta not only the 
handsomest town in Asia, but one of the finest in 
the world. One side of the square consists of a 
range of buildings occupied by persons in civil em- 
ployments under the company, such as writers ia 
the public offices. Part of the $ide towards the river 
is taken up by the old fort, which was the first 
citadel built by the English after their establishment 
in Bengal. It is an indifferent square, with ex- 
tremely small bastions, that can mount at most 
but one gun, though the sides are pierced for two. 
The fort is without a ditch, and is no longer used 
for a fortification : the ramparts are converted into 
gardens, and on the bastions and in the inside of the 
fort ? houses have been built for persona in the service 
N 2 



150 VOYAGE IN THE 

of the government, particularly the officers of the 
custom-house, who transact their business there/ 
These fortifications are so much reduced from the 
scale on which they were originally constructed, that 
the line of defence is now only a hundred and forty 
or a hundred and fifty yards in length, and the front 
not more than two hundred. Though this small 
fort was much superior to that which the English 
had built at first at Madras, it could not protect them 
from the resentment of the nabob of Bengal, Suraja 
Dowla, with whom they were at war : it was taken, 
and such of the English troops as escaped fled for 
safety to Cadjery, where also they were besieged* 
The conqueror, when he got possession of the fort 
at Calcutta, had the prisoners which he took there 
thrust one upon another into a hole, outside the fort, 
from which those only were fortunate enough to 
come out alive who happened to be uppermost in the 
heap ; the rest were all suffocated. In remem- 
brance of so flagrant an act of barbarity, the English, 
who were conquerors in their turn, erected a mon- 
ument between the old fort and the right wing of 
the building occupied by the civil officers of the com- 
pany, on the very spot where the deed was commit- 
ted. It is a pyramid, truncated at the top, and 
standing upon a square pedestal, having a design in 
sculpture on each of its sides, and an inscription in 
the English and Moorish languages, describing the 
occasion on which it was erected. It is surrounded 
with an iron railing to prevent access to it, has shrubs 
planted about it, and exhibits a mournful appear- 
ance, not unsuitable to the event which it is intend- 
ed to commemmorate. 

Close to the old fort is the theatre, which does 
not accord in appearance with the general beauty 



INDIAN OCEAtf. 



151 



of the town, and in which there are seldom dramat- 
ic representations for want of performers* 

There are two churches of the English establish- 
ment at Calcutta, one of which is built in a superb 
and regular style of architecture, with a circular 
range of pillars in front, of the doric order, and 
beautiful in their proportion ; the cornice and archi- 
trave, ornamented, with the triglyphs, are in the 
same excellent taste, and the edifice altogether is a 
model of grandeur and elegance. 

There are also, besides these regular establish- 
ments, a catholic church belonging to the Portu- 
guese mission, another of the Greek persuasion, in 
which the service is performed by monks of the or- 
der of St. Basil, an Armenian conventicle, a syna- 
gogue, several mosques, and a gpeat number of pa- 
godas : so that nearly all the religions in the world 
are assembled in this capital. 

The Black Town is to the north of Calcutta, and 
contiguous to it : it is extremely large : and its 
population, at the time of my last voyage, was com- 
puted at six hundred thousand Indians, women and 
children included. 

So considerable a town ought to possess a vigi- 
Jant police ; but in this respect it is very defective. 
Those who disturb the public tranquillity are indeed 
apprehended, but the condition of the town itself 
is disgustingly unclean. Most of the streets have 
a small canal on each side, serving as a drain both 
for them and the houses, that could not otherwise 
be inhabited, on account of their dampness ; for 
the Ganges, in the great swells, rises to the level 
of many of the streets,- so that it is impossible to 
dig any where without finding water. These canals, 
which are a foot and half, and in some places two 
feet wide, and not more than three deep, are reser- 



152 



TOFAGE IN THE 



vois of filth, that emit the most unwholesome ex- 
halations. Such animals as die in the streets or in 
the houses are thrown into them, and they lie there 
and putrify. From want, sickness, or accident* 
many a poor wretch of the human species also ex- 
pires in the streets : I have seen an instance of this 
where the body has remained two days without be- 
ing taken away by the police. When this happens, 
the remains are thrown in like manner into the 
canals, and thus add to the putrefaction. The na- 
tives are sufficiently cleanly as to their persons and 
houses ; but, having removed from the latter every 
thing which would occasion filth, they conceive 
themselves to have done all that is necessary. They 
leave even their ordure at the door or in the street, 
and, though they complain of the stench, will not 
give themselves the trouble to remove it. 

These remains of men and animals, engendering 
putrefaction in the midst of the living, would even- 
tually produce the plague, if the jackals, who some- 
times traverse the streets by throngs in the night, 
howling dreadfully and devouring every thing in 
their way, did not prevent it. I have seen the 
body of a poor creature lying dead at my door (the 
one I have just spoken of) serve two nights for 
food to some of these hungry animals. The first 
night they carried away the bead and other parts 
of it. The body, without limbs, was rolling in 
the dust all the next day, and trodden upon indis- 
criminately by the men and beasts that passed, with- 
out any person having the humanity to remove it: 
the second mzht it was either entirely devoured or 
carried away, and I was relieved from so disgusting 
a spectacle. 

What is not consumed in this manner by the 
jackals remains for the ravens and eagles* with 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



153 



which the town abounds. They are seen on the 
houses, watching for every thing that is thrown into 
the streets, and they will drop without fear into 
the middle of a crowd to serve their prey. Great 
care is taken not to destroy them, as they contrib- 
ute to the cleanliness of the town, and in that 
view are extremely useful. They are in general 
daring and voracious. I have seen a raven, in the 
bazar called temta, seize upon a fish in the hands 
©f an old negro woman who had just purchased it. 
I lived opposite this market-place, the neighbor- 
hood of which was the resort of an immense number 
of eagles, attracted thither by the smeil which arose 
from the place. One day my cock, coming across 
the yard with a roasted fowl, brought nothing to 
table but the dish ; the fowl was in the talons of 
an eagle, that, having robbed him of it, flew with 
it to the top of the house and tranquilly feasted upon 
it before our eyes. 

All the houses in India have argamasse roofs, that 
is to say, are flat, with a balustrade round them. 
It is there that the inhabitants in the morning and 
evening take the air. Some are ornamented with a 
circular range of pillars on the first story, making a 
sort of gallery, to which they retire when the heat 
of the day is over. 

With respect to living, the fare is but indifferent 
at Calcutta. Provisions for the table are confined 
to butcher's meat, a fowl now and then, but little or 
no game, and scarcely a greater quantity of fish. 
Mutton is almost universally the preferable and 
standing dish. 

In the summer a swarm of flies of every kind 
prevails and is extremely tormenting. The mus- 
kitoes beset one so obstinately, are so easily provok- 
ed and so extremely insatiable, that too many pre- 



154 



VOYAGE IN THE 



cautions cannot be taken against thern. To be se- 
cure from their attacks, it is the custom to wear 
within doors, if one stays any time, whether for 
meals or any other purpose, pasteboard round the 
legs. The most eager after flesh is the large blue 
fly, which settles upon the dishes and infects the 
meat, that is obliged on that account to be covered : 
it will contend with the guests for the victuals they 
are eating, and will follow the morsels as they con- 
vey them to their mouths. It is equally remarka- 
ble for thirst, and will throw itself into a gobiet the 
moment any kind of liquor is pored into it : to 
prevent this the goblet is covered with a silver lid 
made for the purpose. In short, these insects are 
insupportable : they realize every thing which Vir- 
gil has said of the harpies, and twenty times, by 
their persecution, have they driven me from the ta- 
ble. 

To chase away the flies, and occasion a freer cir- 
culation of the air, many houses have a -large fan 
hanging from the ceiling over the eating table, of a 
square form, and baiar ced on an axle fitted to the 
upper part of it. A servant, standing at one end of 
the room, puts it in motion by means of a cord which 
is fastened to it, in the same manner as he would 
ring a bell. Besides this, there is a servant behind 
the chair of each individual with another kind of fan, 
made of a branch of the palm-tree. The stalk serves 
for a handle, and the leaves, fastened together and 
cut into a round or square shape, give it the ap- 
pearance of a flag. By these contrivances a little 
fresh air is procured. 

It is chiefly in Bengal, where smoking after meals 
is customary, that the hooka is in use. Every hooka- 
badar prepares separately that of his master in an 
adjoining apartment, and, entering all together with 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



the dessert, they range them round the table. For 
half an hour there is a continued clamor, and noth- 
ing is distinctly heard but the cry of silence, till the 
noise subsides and the conversation assumes its usu- 
al tone. It is scarcely possible so see through the 
cloud of smoke which fills the apartment. The ef- 
fect produced by these circumstances is whimsical 
enough to a stranger, and if he has not his hooka he 
will find himself in an awkward and unpleasant sit- 
uation. The rage of smoking extends even to the 
ladies : and the highest compliment they can pay 
a man is to give him preference by smoking his 
hooka. In this case it is a point of politeness to 
take off the mouth piece he is using, and substitute 
a fresh one, which he presents to the lady with his 
hooka, who soon returns it. This compliment is 
not always of trivial importance; it sometimes sig- 
nifies a great deal for a friend, and often still more to 
a husband. Tobacco forms but a small part of the 
ingredients that are burnt in this instrument ; dried 
fruits, sugar, and other things are made use of, which, 
added to the rose-water with which the tube of the 
instrument is wetted, give a taste and fragraaee to 
the smoke that are extremely agreeable ; the smoke 
too, by passing through the water before it reaches 
the mouth, acquires a coolness that renders it ssill 
more pleasant. 

Conveyance by the palanqmn is in use at Bengal, 
as on the coast of the peninsula ; but Calcutta, ex- 
clusively of this mode, abounds with all sorts of car- 
riages, chariots, whiskies, and phaetons, which oc- 
casion in the evening as great a bustle as in one of 
the principal towns of Europe. There are also a 
great number of saddle horses, some of the Persian 
breed, of exquisite beauty, but no Arabians, except 
a small sort called pooni 9 which are very much in 



158 



VOYAGE IN THE 



vogue for phaetons. All these animals are faulty ; 
many of them vicious ; for they are trusted to Moor- 
ish grooms, who know indeed how to feed and fat- 
ten them, but who teach them at the same time the 
most incorrigible habits. A friend of mine having 
given me the free use of his stud, his Moorish grooms 
after following me one day to the public walk, as 
was usual, were so displeased with the quickness of 
my pace, that they determined not to be exposed to 
it again. I know not what they did to the horses, 
but I could never, subsequently to this period, make 
any of them go faster than a walk, Having a desire 
a few days afterwards to take a ride, I was scarcely 
out of the stable, and had the reins in my hand, 
when my horse began his capers. I applied the 
spur, and he was still more restive. I patted and 
coaxed him ; it was of no use. I dismounted ; I 
examined the bridle, the bit, and the curb ; I even 
took it off, and replaced it mysflf : I removed the 
saddle to see that nothing improper had been put 
underneath; I inspected his tail and his shoes: 
every thing was right, and as it ought to be ; arid all 
this time the animal was perfectly quiet. I mounted 
him again.* and he readily set off walking without 
waiting to be told ; but the moment I attempted to 
make him trot, he instantly recommenced his tricks, 
I then applied the spur unsparingly to his side ; upon 
which, without advancing a step, he played such 
antics, that I thought he would have killed me. Yet 
this was the same horse I had rode two days before, 
and which had then shown in every respect the ut- 
most gentleness and obedience. I resigned him to 
the Moor, who immediately led him in a canter to 
the stable. I shall make no comment on this singu- 
lar incident, and should in vain be asked to explain 
it I relate precisely what I saw, and no more. A 



INDIAN OCEAN, 



similar circumstance occurred to me at Yanaon with 
a horse of Mr. Demars. 

The English have begun to improve the breed of 
the Bengal horses : they have crossed the Persian 
inares with English stallions, and, to excite emula- 
tion, have established races similar to those of New- 
market and Epsom. In 1794, I saw a horse that 
had been brought from England contend on the 
course with a most noble animal of the Persian breed ; 
but the English one conquered, and won, in two 
successive heats every bet that was made, to the great 
joy of its countrymen, wbe cried in transport, " Old 
England for ever !" It should be observed, that this 
was only a week after the horse had been landed* 
Notwithstanding its confinement on board, and the 
fatigue of so long a voyage, it was still able to con- 
tend successfully with a fresh and well trained Ara- 
bian : a proof that the English breed surpasses that 
of every other country in fleetness. 

Though carriages are so numerous at Calcutta, 
they are never used for travelling. Almost all 
journies are made by water. Bengal is so inter- 
sected with rivers and canals, that you can go to 
any part of it in a boat. For this purpose the rich- 
er class of people make use of a conveyance called 
bazaras. Nothing can exceed the elegance and 
convenience of these little vessels. They have com- 
modious apartments, like a house, and are followed 
by a large boat containing a kitchen and its furni- 
ture, so that a person may travel in this country 
more pleasantly than in any other part of the wor?4 
and without experiencing greater fatigue, than if he 
were all the time in his own house. 

A great many ships are built at Calcutta, and in 
the yards are several stock* -well filled ; but these 
vessels are very expensive. They are extremely so!- 
O 



158 



TOY AGS IN THE 



id, and are made of teak wood, which has the quai- 
ity of rotting much more slowly than oak. Vessels 
which are built of it will accordingly last a very 
Jong time, if kept from running aground ; for the 
wood is oily, which prevents it from decaying ; but 
being free from knots, it splits so easily, that a sin- 
gle stroke of an axe upon one end of a beam a foot 
thick will divide it quite through to the other end. 
Oak on the contrary is full of knots, which add to 
its power of resistance ; but it is by no means so du- 
rable as teak. 

The privilege of the company is so great as to 
prevent any individual from trading to any part of 
Europe, or at least to England ; but from one place 
to another in India the trade is free, and is very 
considerable both to China and elsewhere. The 
river Hoegly is in consequence covered with ves- 
sels, which add to the opulence and industry of 
Calcutta. The wealth of this place is indeed ex- 
traordinary ; silver money they will scarcely deign 
to mention ; they reckon only by the gulmohur, a 
piece of gold of the value of sixteen rupees, or forty- 
two livres, estimating the piece-of- eight at five li- 
vres five sous. The Indians hwe the practice of 
clipping the coin, like the Jews in Europe, so that, 
on receiving a sura of money, it is necessary to be 
provided with a serraff, who weighs and values the 
different pieces. 

The money of the people is the cowries of the 
■Maldive Islands. The trade of Bengal is in the 
hands of the sircars, who are there what the dohiches 
are on the coast The sircars are Bramins, who 
lose no part of their dignity or importance by be- 
coming merchants. They are known by a string 
of cotton, of seven threads, which they wear next 
their skin, in the manner of a scarf, from right to 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



159 



left, and are assisted by clerks, who have the priv- 
ilege of composing a separate cast, and look upon 
themselves as a division of that of the Bramins, sub- 
ordinate indeed to them, but superior to all' other 
casts. 

Bengal is at present the true country of the Bra- 
mins. Their names terminate almost always iu 
ram ; a distinction of honor answering nearly to 
the French de 9 the German von, or the don of the 
Spaniards, with this difference, that it follows the 
name instead of preceding it. The name of my 
sircar was Obissou ; but, adding the final syllable 
of etiquette, he was called Chissouram. He was 
intelligent, honest, and, what is a very rare quality 
in a sircar, but little greedy after gain. 

The ease with which these people learn any thing 
is wonderful: they all both speak and write the 
French, English, Portuguese, Moorish, Malabar, and 
their own sacred language ; which fast no one un- 
derstands that does not belong to their cast. Some 
modern authors and particularly the English, have 
made us acquainted with passages of their sacred 
books, their Vtid am ard their Ezourveidam ; and in 
the national library at Paris is a translation of the 
Cormovedam. I respect the profound knowledge of 
these auihors ; I pretend not to call their honor in 
question ; but would rather believe, since they af- 
firm it, that the translations they give us are au- 
thentic, or at least that they think so themselves. I 
shall only remark, how much it is to be wished, 
that this sacred language of the Bramins were pub- 
licly known, that we may all be enabled to profit 
by the light which must result from an acquaintance 
with the annals of so ancient and so learned a peo- 
ple. I am far from wishing to throw doubts upon 
such supposed books of theirs as have been made 



160 



VOYAGE IN 



known to us : my opinion, besides, would hare but 
little weight against authorities so great ; yet it ap- 
pears to me, that whoever has been personally ac- 
quainted with the Bramins, and has studied their 
character and prejudices, must be struck with the 
unusual marks of confidence which the communi- 
cation of such passages implies, and the inferences 
to which such confidence wouid lead. If a person 
thus acquainted with them were disposed to make 
objections as to these passages, he might say, " The 
Bramins are by no means communicative ; it is a 
point of their religion even to conceal from all the 
world the knowledge of their language and their 
books. We must therefore suppose, that some of 
their chiefs, for they alone have the custody of the 
books and the law, have conquered the aversion 
they naturally entertained for foreign casts ; have 
lost all remorse at so flagrant a renunciation of their 
precepts ; and have chosen to risk their being ex- 
communicated from their cast, which they value 
above life itself, rather than disoblige a stranger, 
who might have asked them for so important commu- 
nications." 

f am aware, that these writings are now matters 
of general notoriety ; that the most celebrated an- 
thers are eager to propagate them : fragments of 
these sacred books are printed in almost every pub- 
lication ; travellers have even professed to have ac- 
quired a perfect knowledge of the Sanscrit language 
at Bengal. All this is so common, that I ought to 
believe it, and I do so, though these Bramins are 
greatly under the influence of their religion, which 
imposes a law upon them to conceal from us what 
we thus pretend to know ; though a much lighter 
fault wiii subject them to the loss of their cast, a 
calamity which they will sacrifice every thing to 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



161 



avoid, or, when this has happened, to regain the 
privilege ; though even when lost irrecoverably, 
the person so situated still remains invariably at- 
tached to it, and does not on that account the less 
completely despise all other casts ; consequently, 
never endeavors to avenge himself by betraying 
his own : in short, though it were possible to be- 
lieve, that, to get rid of the importunities of those 
who solicited them, they had entered into an agree- 
ment among themselves, to communicate merely 
indifferent circumstances, with the hope of being 
left quiet as to other matters, or had even invented 
what has been told us, for the express purpose of 
putting an end to the inquiries of Europeans, by 
pretending to satisfy us, and thus conceal more ef- 
fectually all knowledge of their real mysteries — in 
spite of all this, can I do other than believe what 
has been told us by so many respectable authors ? 
But let me be suffered once more to remark? that „ 
if the communications which the Bramins have 
made to us be true, they must have transgressed the 
laws of their religion ; that they have so far betray- 
ed their trust, they must have lost their inviolable at- 
tachment to it, which for so many ages has main- 
tained in them the most profound secresy upon the 
subject ; that if the spirit of exclusion towards 
strangers be destroyed in them, the line of demar- 
cation by which they were separated from the rest 
of the world must be destroyed ; and that, if the 
secrets of their cast are unveiled, the respect which 
it has hitherto inspired will soon be lost and annihi- 
lated. Nothing is ever reverenced by the people 
but what is mysterious and concealed ; and this is 
the foundation of the sacred opinion which is en- 
tertained of the Bramins : the moment they shall 
be known, the sentiment by which that opinion is 
O 2 



162 



VOYAGE Itf THE 



maintained will be obliterated. This cast then, 
which mocks the efforts of history to trace its ori- 
gin, must quickly disappear : and the genius of rev- 
olution, which has lately changed the face of Eu- 
rope, would seem destined to extend his influence 
through the universe, to destroy opinions regarded 
as sacred in. the most distant parts of the globe, and 
to unveil a secret preserved inviolable through a suc- 
cession of ages too great for the calculations of our 
chronology to reach. 

The Bramins still pursue their studies at Benares, 
a town which maintains its celebrity on account of 
the learned who live there. The nabob of this 
country has entirely lost his power, and is now 
merely the humble servant of the English company. 
But even were Benares to be laid low by some con- 
quering arm, the Bramins, amidst the din of war, 
which they have abjured, would not abandon their 
studies. During all the revolutions which the 
Mogul Empire experienced, all the convulsions by 
which Bengal was distracted when invaded by ma- 
hometanism, these people, unchanged in their pur- 
suits, their virtues, (he mildness of their mariners, 
and the secresy of their doctrines, stedfast in the 
persuasion of the superiority of their morals and 
their descent, never failed to obtain the admiration 
even of their victorious enemies, who, submitting to 
the universal veneration which they saw paid to them, 
have acknowledged their own inferiority. Thus in 
a manner superior to the accidents of the world and 
the revolutions of states, they have maintained a su- 
premacy over the mind* of every nation. Without 
the empire gained bj arms, they possess that of 
opinion ; and, isolated in the middle of the world, 
they have triumphed over time itself. And yet, with 
so high a degree of glory, the result of so m^cb pa* 



INDIAN OCEAN, 



363 



-tience and virtue, we must suppose they would sac- 
rifice this to satisfy the importunate curiosity of a few 
travellers, totally unknown to them, who had come 
from the remotest regions of the earth to inquire in- 
to their mysteries ; that, in direct violation of the 
essential precepts of their religion, they would dis- 
card, in favor of these foreigners, a silence rendered 
sacred by a series of ages, and reveal secrets which 
were the foundation of a superiority preserved and 
transmitted by their ancestors from the earliest peri- 
ods of the world. What an instance of the instabili- 
ty of human affairs ! 

To conclude, if I have taken the liberty to haz- 
ard conjectures respecting the sacred volumes of the 
Entrains, let me repeat, that it is no part of my in- 
tention to raise doubts as to the authenticity of 
such translations as we possess. I have no proofs 
against them. If I had, the reputation of the au- 
thors would not deter me from saying to the world, 
" Do not give credit to those books ; they are false." 
In the present case, I am so far from attempting to 
weaken the respect which is paid to them, that I 
have confined myself to reflections on the general 
character of the Bramins, & the inconsistency which 
their communications of this nature manifest : my 
conclusions evidently are less against the books 
themselves than against the cast. 

The trade of Calcutta is very extensive. It is 
through this channel that the company obtains the 
saltpetre, and all the muslins which we see in Eu- 
rope ; while it exports to this part Spanish coins, 
gold thread, copper, lead, iron in bars and wrought, 
English manufactures of different sorts for the use 
of the Europeans there, wine and brandy, sea-salt, 
aild marine stores of every kind.. Individuals there 
obtain pepper and arrac from the coast of Malabar; 



164 



VOYAGE IN THE 



raw silks, nankeens, porcelain, and tea from China, 
to which place they send in return the cotton of the 
Malabar coast. The grain of Bengal they export 
to every part of India, receive silks from Surat, 
send muslins and European commodities to Macao 
and the Philippine islands, and give circulation to 
all these articles in the whole interior of Asia. A 
commerce which extends to such a variety of branch- 
es cannot fail to enrich those who cultivate it, and 
accordingly Calcutta is the richest town in India. 
Private merchants, however, are not the most weal- 
thy class of those who reside there ; the company's 
servants are much richer, and become so much more 
rapidly. 

A young man who comes from London in the 
capacity of writer, without a single rupee in his 
pocket when he arrives, finds himself in four-and 
twenty hours swimming in wealth. He is no soon- 
er landed than the sircars offer him their purses, 
which he is not tardy in accepting, and immediately 
he has his palanquin, his horses, his servants, his 
cooks, and every accommodation. These Bramins 
are well aware that the stranger will soon be in pos- 
session of a good place, and in the course of a year 
or two (they will wait longer if necessary) will be 
able to repay them liberally. They urge him to 
expense, knowing that the deeper he is in their debt 
the more tractable they shall find him. It is true, 
they risk the chance of his dying ; but should he live 
they will be amply remunerated. In the course of 
a twelve-month the young man will be sent into the 
country, be invested with some office, such as assist- 
ant collector, and be intrusted with the receipt of a 
district. This is what the sircar was waiting for ; he 
will follow his master in the exercise of his office, 
will procure without difficulty the management of 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



165 



the collection, and there is then no sort of extortion 
which he will scruple. ; Whatever place the young 
man may obtain, the sircar will contrive to be his 
agent, and to raise an immense fortune by the exac- 
tions that are in his power. But to conceal these 
disgraceful practices, which, if detected, might sub- 
ject them to lose their cast, the Brarains pretend, 
that they are simply repaid, out cf the salary of 
their master, the sums they have advanced ; and 
this salary he resigns to them, reserving merely a 
sufficiency for his household expenses. This game 
continues till the sircar is satisfied with the fortune 
he has amassed, when he takes leave of his master; 
or till the latter sees into the treachery of his con* 
duct, is disgusted with it, and turns him away. 
The master then resorts himself to the same means, 
and thus coaipletes his own fortune in two or three 
years ; so that the people experience a change only 
of oppressors, without being relieved from the op- 
pression. It should be observed, that the sircars of 
whom we are speaking form but a small part of the 
Bramins, and that the same character must not be 
supposed to extend to the learned, whose virtues 
are equal to their talents, and who would blush, even 
in their retirement, at the idea, not of a fair and 
honest course of trade, but of any practices in the 
smallest degree resembling those we have described. 
Yet, notwithstanding the corruption and knavery of 
these sircars, they are not the less unchangeably 
convinced of their own superiority to all other men, 
whom they accordingly look upon with sovereign 
contempt. 

Of the different descriptions of persons who ac- 
quire fortunes in the service of the company, the 
most numerous are the military ; but they arrive at 
opulence much more slowly, and in a degree great* 



186 



VOYAGE IN THE 



ly inferior to (he civil officers., The habit of living 
in the country, the customs W which they must sub- 
mit, the manners they acquire, and other circum- 
stances, render it necessary for them to settle them- 
selves. Such as are called by their duty to stations 
at a great distance in the interior part of the coun- 
try, and have no opportunity of enriching them* 
selves, ally themselves by marriage to Indian women 
of the Moorish cast. As the children from these 
alliances have often no fortune, that of their father 
consisting merely of his corp mission, which is but a 
precarious inheritance, they are supported in that 
case by the English company, which has provided 
for the purpose an establishment at Calcutta that is 
honorable to human nature, where the legitimate 
issue, both male and female, of any of Us servants, 
receive a suitable education, and are taught all the 
useful accomplishments : the boys are afterwards 
provided with situations according to I heir abilities 
and genius, and the girls settled in Hie, and some- 
times even sent to Europe at the expense- of the 
company, to finish their education. The good 'Or- 
der and decency of thin institution have obtained 
it. the praise of all who have attended to it. The 
military officers stationed at Calcutta, or in the neigh- 
borhood, sometimes intermarry with these girls, 
whose fathers it frequently happens they have been 
acquainted with. Such marriages are by no means 
uncommon; ail who have acquired any fortune, 
whether civil officers or others, finding the neces- 
sity of a female companion to banish from their minds 
the remembrance of their country. 

From a knowledge of this general predilection in 
favor of natrimony in India, the English, who are 
inclined to every sort of speculation, send thither an- 
nually whole cargoes of females^ who are tolerably 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



167 



handsome, and are seldom six months in the coun- 
try without getting husbands. These cargoes are 
impatiently expected by such as, not liking the or- 
phans, are tired of celibacy, and the look out for the 
arrival of the ships is as eager, as it is in other plac- 
es for a freight of merchandize to make purchases of 
goods. What is more extraordinary, these mar- 
riages are in general happy. The women, removed 
from Europe, from a situation of mediocrity, often 
of unhappiness, to a distant country, where they 
pass suddenly into a state of opulence, feel as they 
ought the sentiments of gratitude due to the men, 
who share with them their fortunes. They become 
both good wives and good mothers, and are there- 
fore generally preferred to the natives, who are con- 
tinually wishing for the luxuries in which they were 
brought up. These matrimonial ventures afford the 
means of keeping up the white race at Bengal, and 
prevent the Portuguese cast from increasing so fast 
as on the coast. This cast is called here topas, 
from the word topi, which signifies in the Portu- 
guese language a hat. The name is given to such 
Indians as change their own for the European dress 3 
and wear a hat instead of a turban. 

The children that are the ofi&pring of the English 
alliances with the women of India, are of no partic- 
ular religion, though most inclined to that of Eng- 
land. Indeed they consider themselves as English 
altogether, and consequently as greatly superior in 
blood to the Portuguese race. They are employed 
by the government in situations in the interior part 
of the country, at a distance from the capital, where 
th$y marry women of colour, and their children 
again become black, with an English family-name. 
This is true policy on the part of the company, 
which, conscious that a population that is. foreign 



168 



TOtAGE IN THE 



to it must contain the seeds of its destruction, en* 
deavors to people the country with a race of its 
own. The power of the company depends for its 
support on a force which is not English ; the com- 
pany is sensible of this, but it is an evil which can- 
not be avoided ; the hand of time can alone gradu- 
ally furnish the remedy, by destroying the aversion 
of Europeans to marriages with women of colour. 
These marriages should be encouraged, as a gener- 
ation would thereby be produced, which, descend- 
ing from English blood, would feel towards England 
a national attachment. 

Meanwhile, till this revolution takes place, the 
company is obliged to trust its safety to mercenary 
s auxiliaries, and to put into their hands weapons, 
which, on the first discontent, they may turn against 
their masters. Fortunately for the company, the 
soldiers thus employed are of the Moorish cast ; a 
cast that invaded and conquered the country short- 
ly after the death of Mahomet, and has since enter- 
tained a perfect contempt for the natives who yield- 
ed to them, while these have retained on their paj£ 
an inveterate hatred of their conquerors. The gov- 
ernment turns this disagreement skilfully to its ad- 
vantage, and endeavors to heighten it, for the pur- 
pose of governing and keeping the two parties in or- 
der, by the aid of each other. The Bramins alone 
would form a class, which, by having the good opin- 
V ion of both, might be troublesome ; but these have 
long forsaken their theocratical establishment, and 
are solely intent on extending among their own 
members the sciences, which they have incessantly 
cultivated, and the virtues by which they are dis- 
tinguished. 

England thus rules the country without opposi- 
tion : but were the Indians and Moors to uuite in a 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



169 



single point only, that of aversion to foreigners, her 
power would soon be at an end. Reduced in that 
case to a dependence on her European forces, the 
contest she would have to sustain would be too un- 
equal for any alternative to be expected, but that of 
defeat and submission. Such a catastrophe can nev- 
er be brought about but by a hostile nation, possess- 
ing the necessary policy to plan the design, the pa- 
tience and means to forward it in secrecy, and the 
power at the explosion to second and support it ; 
and even that nation must entertain no hope of ad- 
vantage to itself, since being equally foreign, it 
would probably be included in the very proscrip- 
tion which it had contributed to foment. 

If such a revolution, however, be practicable, the 
present government is at least doing every thing in 
its power to bestow the germ of it, by procuring a 
population of English origin, and thus diminish the 
possibility by augmenting its strength. Madras 
and Bombay command the whole of the peninsu ! a, 
and the death of Tippoo has lately relieved the Eng- 
lish from the only adequate check upon their influ- 
ence. The king of Trevancour and the nizam of Gol- 
conda, in complete submission to their will, guarantee 
their authority from Cape Comorin to the frontier 
of the state of the Mahrattas, a nation that has al- 
ways been their faithful ally, and assisted them with 
its arms. Fort William puts the whole province 
of Bengal at their disposal ; and the nabob of the 
adjoining provinces, Mouxoudabad, Benares, and 
Lucknow, bow to the sceptie of the merchants of 
London. The troops of these princes are commai)d- 
ed by English officers, which insures their fidelity 
to the company ; and the Mogul emperor has even 
offered his arms for the chains with which he will 
soon be loaded. Already an English detachment 



170 



VOYAGE IN" THE 



is stationed at Delhi, where it resides with its offi- 
cer in the very palace of the emperor, and keeps 
guard over his person, pretending to do so for his 
safety and to serve him as a guard of honor ; while 
in fact it is a guard of spies, placed there to watch 
all his actions, to give an account of them, and even- 
tually it will not fail to reduce him to the same 
state of insignificance to which the other princes, 
his vassals, who have submitted to the ascendancy 
of European power, are subjected. 

The English company has sovereign authority, 
and holds in its hands the reiri3 of government. It 
nominates to all offices, imposes taxes, receives 
tributes, declares war and makes peace in its own 
name, and keeps up a land and sea force distinct 
from that of the king. Its navy consists of a couple 
of frigates, and two or three sloops, which are sta- 
tioned at Bombay. The company has besides two 
or three merchant ships, which regularly make voy- 
ages to Europe like those which it freights ; for the 
ships in general which the company employs in its 
trade do not belong to it, but are hired of private 
individuals. There is no privilege or exemption 
in this business, every one who has ships fit for the 
purpose being at liberty to offer them. Those 
which are taken up for a single voyage only are 
called extra-ships, to distinguish them from such as 
are constantly employed, and which are called reg- 
ular bottoms. These vessels are commanded by 
captains who take an oath of fidelity to the company, 
and who wear a blue uniform, with black velvit 
facings, embroidered with gold. A command of 
this nature is very expensive ; to obtain it, as to a 
regular ship, three things are necessary ; the con- 
sent of the company, that of the owner of the ship, 
and the resignation of the individual who had the 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



171 



previous command. The first two require only a 
compliance with the established forms, but the last 
is an affair of purchase. A captain is not remove- 
able : to cashier him he must have committed some 
fault, and have been brought regularly to trial ; 
and even then the accustomed price must be paid 
him by his successor, which is generally about three 
thousand pounds. WJien a ship becomes old and 
unfit for service, the captain obliges the owners to 
build him a new one immediately, that he may be 
freighted in his turn. The same is done when a 
vessel is wrecked or taken by an enemy. 

These ships are all built on nearly similar models, 
and should be pierced to carry at least six-and-twen- 
ty twelve pounders on the gun-deck. Many are 
stronger, and in case of necessity can act offensive- 
ly, and serve as frigates in the Indian seas : but their 
guns are too low to be of the same use in wider 
oceans. When the governor general wants them 
for any extraordinary service, he freights (hem for 
the time necessary ; this is a distinct business, and 
is paid for separately from the common voyage. 

These resources not being sufficient, they are 
augmented by some land and sea forces of the king 
of England. A part of the royal navy is always 
stationed in India, that of the company serving dn'y 
for the narrow seas and against the pirates of the 
coast of Malabar. Five or six regiments of the 
royal troops are in like manner kept in the different 
settlements : these add to the number of European 
forces in the pay of the company ; for the king's 
troops in their service receive from tliern the same 
jpay as their own. Besides this garrison, the king 
maintains a right of sovereignty over the territory 
of the company. The persons who reside there are 
amenable, as English subjects, to the tribunals of 



172 



VOFAGE IN THE 



his majesty, and justice is administered in his name, 
AH other acts of sovereignty are in the hands of 
the governor general, assisted by his council ; and 
it is from this supreme court that all orders relative 
to operations of government emanate. The orders 
from Europe, in every thing that belongs to com- 
mercial affairs, proceed from the eourt of directors ; 
but points touching the sovereign government are 
under the direction of a board of control, the pres- 
ident of which is one of the king's ministers ; so 
that by means of his board, his troops, and the 
local administration of justice, the «king is the true 
sovereign of India. The united company of mer- 
chants trading thither have only the title to flatter 
their vanity; the essence of the authority resides in 
his majesty, who allows them to dispose of their 
funds as they think proper, under certain restric- 
tions however ; for the opulence of his company 
affecting the public credit of the nation, it is neces- 
sary that its financial concerns should be subject to 
examination. 

The government of Bengal either farms out its 
taxes,, ar puts them into some other train of man- 
agement, as it thinks proper. They are collected 
in its name, and it appoints the judges for the in- 
terior parts of the country ; a measure which is 
extremely obnoxious to the natives, who are there- 
by compelled to have recourse to foreigners for 
justice. In this department the greatest difficulty 
is to decide with equity between a European and 
an Indian, when the laws of the two nations differ. 
Each party professes himself ignorant of the laws of 
the other, and the judge is sure to give offence to 
one of them, who complains accordingly, and ex- 
cites a clamour against him. 

In publishing my Voyage in the Indian Ocean 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



173 



and to Bengal, I have been desirous of exhibiting a 
picture of the true state of the Europeans in that 
part of (he world, rather than of writing a course of 
botany, ornithology, or mineralogy. My intention 
was to furnish materials for historians, not for 
naturalists ; I shall therefore give no nomenclature 
either of animals, birds, or the productions of the 
country ; on those subjects there are already wri- 
teps enough. I shall merely observe with regard to 
animals, that there are two sorts of oxen in India, 
the large and the small. The former resemble those 
in Europe ; but there is another sort lower in stat- 
ure, and which bear the same proportion to oxen in 
general, as the small Hungarian horses do to the 
large English ones. Among this small kind there 
are some in particular that are accounted sacred, 
and are called Braniin oxen. I know not whether 
thay are indebted for their form to the particular 
care that is taken of them, to a more delicate food, 
cr to the easy life which they lead ; but they have 
by no means the heavy sluggish air that character- 
ises other animals of their species. On the con- 
trary, they are light, slender, active, and have some- 
thing graceful both in their shape and motions. 
They are a sort of apis, and are suffered to go at 
large among the people in the streets and market- 
places, and to take freely whatever they like. Any 
person in the bazar, from whom one of these oxen 
shall take a cabbage or other vegetable, will con- 
sider it as an instance of extraordinary good for- 
tune, and all his family will rejoice with him at the 
event. 

The sheep are in every respect like those in 
France, and do not at all resemble the African 
breed, which is a species that I have no where else 
met with in any part of the world, 
P 2 



174 



VOYAGE IN THE 



Elephants are common all over this province, and 
are trained to every sort of employment, even to 
hunting the tiger. It is customary to fasten on the 
back of this huge animal a pavilion, large enough 
to hold five or six persons, who ascend to it by a 
ladder, which is afterwards suspended to the crup- 
per. 

When a tiger is to be hunted, the persons who 
engage in the amusement get into this pavilion, 
and have several well-trained dogs that beat the 
country before them. The elephant follows the 
dogs till he gets scent of 4he tiger, which he does 
generally at a great distance, for his senses are ex- 
tremely acute. Immediately he raises his trunk in- 
to the air like the mast of a ship, and seems anxious 
to keep it from being laid hold of by his enemy. 
On this signal the hunters prepare to fire if it should 
be necessary. 

The dogs in the mean time press upon the tiger, 
who no sooner perceives the elephant than he stands 
immovable, his mouth open and claws extended, 
roaring dreadfully, and watching every motion of 
the elephant with the greatest attention. The lat- 
ter approaches within the length of his trunk, 
which he still keeps erect and out of danger : the 
two animals for a moment look at each other, and 
this is the time when the hunters usually fire. The 
shot makes the tiger start, on which the elephant 
seizes him, and dextrously lifting him up with his 
trunk, and letting him fall agrain, crushes him to 
death by treading upon him, and forces his entrails 
through the wounds Whenever a tiger makes his 
appearance near any place that is inhabited, he is 
hunted in this manner; and the amusement is at- 
tended with so little danger, that ladies are often of 
the party. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



175 



There are many species of monkeys at Bengal, but 
no orang-outang. 

Among the birds of this province are the vul- 
ture and the eagle. This last is the small or 
speckled eagle, but the vulture is the large sort. 
There is also a great vaviety of paroquets, and one 
species in particular that is difficult to be kept ; a 
circumstance to be lamented from the extraordinary 
beauty of its plumage. Its head is superb, being 
shaded with rose colour, gold, and azure ; the 
beak too is of rose colour, and the rest of the body 
green. * There is also a charming little bird call- 
ed bengaii, with grey and red plumage mixed with 
white spots ; and a large grey sparrow that can 
dive into the water and fetch its prey from the 
bottom, if the depth be not more than a foot ; this 
is the more extraordinary, as nature does not ap- 
pear to have destined this bird to swim, for it is 
not web-footed, and its feathers readily imbibe wa- 
ter. 

The productions of Bengal, taken generally, may 
be classed under two heads, those of the soil and 
those of industry. 

In the number of the former is saltpetre, with 
which the land of this country is strongly impreg- 
nated. This does not require repeated washing to 
yield any quantity ; a single operation is sufficient 
to obtain as much as the Indians want. Their 
laziness could not endure the frequent repetitions 
of that process which are necessary in Europe. 
Cotton is another production of the soil, from which 
those fine muslins are made which are brought to 
Europe. 

* The name given to this bird by Edwards is the rose beaded 
ring paroquet* T. 



17-6 



VOYAGE IN THE 



Wheat is very sparingly cultivated here, but the 
country abounds in rice, which constitutes the prin- 
cipal nourishment of the people : the ground is un- 
commonly fruitful ; there is no such thing known 
as a bad crop. As the country is low arid fiat, it 
is intersected and watered by a multitude of canals, 
which are supplied by the Ganges, and contribute 
greatly to the fertility of the soil. This river over- 
flows in the higher countries, and leaves, like the 
Nile, a sediment behind it, which the heat of the 
sun modifies and renders very productive. Bengal 
is the granary of rice to all India. 

Vegetables of every sort thrive well, but fruit in 
general is good for nothing. With much pains 
some European fruit-trees are made to grow* but 
the fig is the only fruit that prospers, and even that 
is scarce. As to the fruits of the torrid zone, the 
latitude of the climate is too high, and the heat too 
moderate, to bring them to any perfection ; the 
anana in particular is very bad. 

The English have introduced into this province 
a new species of agriculture, in the cultivation of 
the sugar-cane. When I left Bengal in .1794, this 
undertaking had just begun to be tried, and it al- 
ready afforded a fair prospect of success. Messrs, 
Lambert and Ross were the first who engaged in 
the speculation. I visited their plantation, and had 
the pleasure of seeing that their fields looked well, 
were in good order, and the canes promising, though 
smaller than those of the Antilles ; this disadvan- 
tage however is compensated by the quantity of 
juice they yield, which is owing to the peculiar 
quality of the soil in which they are planted. The 
only thing that dissatisfied me was, that a misplaced 
economy seemed to have presided in the establish- 
ment of the manufactories. The buildings were 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



177 



good, the coppers extensive, and the mill well ex- 
ecuted, but it was worked by oxen, which have 
neither the strength nor the perseverance of the 
mules in the West Indies. These oxen are a de- 
generate kind of buffalo, and it is not without great 
trouble they can be rendered in any degree useful : 
the business of driving and whipping them is the 
hardest employment in the whole manufactory. 
This mode of working a mill appears to me a very 
ineligible contrivance ; a water-mill certainly would 
be much more simple and preferable, and the Gan- 
ges is rapid enough to afford a fail of water that 
would set any wheel in motion. 

At the period of which V speak, the natives were 
too little acquainted with a business of this kind to 
be capable of conducting it, and workmen were ac- 
cordingly brought from China for the purpose : it 
is to be hoped however, that the Indians will learn 
ia time iv do without these ifieft, and will no long- 
er have recourse to foreigners, who are not to be 
obtained but at expense that enhances the price 
of the sugar, which will prove o? little ultimate ad- 
vantage, unless it can be brought in price to bear 
some proportion in Europe to that of the West In- 
dies. 

In some provinces indigo is cultivated with con- 
siderable success ; but though the plants are fine, 
all the indigo I saw was of a very indifferent quality. 
This is owing perhaps to the manner of prepara- 
tion ; however, be the cause what it may, certainly 
that of the Isle of France is greatly superior. I saw 
at Calcutta the common blue indigo only, but none 
of the copper, or the flower, or the inflammable 
sort. 

Among the productions of industry, ought prin- 
cipally to be mentioned the different kinds of mus- 



178 



VOYAGE 1ST THE 



lins, some plain, others striped, and others again 
worked whh gold, silver, and cotton, of which the 
finest are made at Dacca, a town in the northern 
part of the province, where there are many manu- 
factories ; to these must be added the doreas and 
ferrindams, the different sorts of linen under the 
names of cossaes, nainsooks, gurrahs, baliasores, the 
chintzes of Patna, the carpets of Barainpour, hand- 
kerchiefs and pieces of silk and of cotton. 

The English have established manufactories for 
plinted linens in the neighborhood, of Calcutta, 
that in no long time will totally ruin those manu- 
factured by the natives of Patna, which are greatly 
inferior, and are besides less easily disposed of, on 
account of the distance of Patna from the capital. 
At Sirampoor, a Danish colony, of which I shall 
speak hereafter, there was an excellent manufacto- 
ry of this kind, belonging to Mr. Hamilton. 

The Ganges, dispending fertility in its progress, 
navigable throughout, and thus affording the means 
of commercial inter course, has obtained the adora- 
tion of the inhabitants of its banks, from the innu- 
merable benefits it continually bestows upon them, 
and has been worshipped as a divinity since the pe- 
riod when, according to tradition, madam Dourga 
plunged into it and disappeared. They relate, that 
this woman was their legislator, that in her old age 
she descended to the bottom of the Ganges, and 
that she still lives there. Accordingly the greatest 
happiness of life is that of bathing in this river and 
drinking its waters, which have the virtue of puri- 
fying both body and soul. 

Amidst the absurdities of this story, the wisdom 
of the legislator may be clearly perceived, who in- 
tended by the invention to enforce upon the natives 
the practice of frequent bathing, so necessary in a 



INDIAN CCEAtf. 



179 



climate like this, to prevent cutaneous disorders 
and the various eviis resulting from uneleanliness. 
It is in the same spirit that they are enjoined by a 
precept to abstain from animal food, and to live 
wholly upon vegetable diet ; a precaution equally 
useful for the prevention of those putrid disorders, 
which would otherwise be inevitable, from the noi- 
some vapors that prevail in a country almost wholly 
under water during a part of the year. 

The story of madam Dourga has given rise to a 
superstition, to which many a poor creature has fall- 
en a victim. It is believed that every one who is 
drowned in the Ganges is destined to enjoy with 
this fair personage -eternal happiness, and that it is 
by her contrivance and interposition that accidents 
of this kind happen. When a man therefore is in 
danger of drowning, instead of endeavoring to extri- 
cate him, the byestanders wish him every kind of 
pleasure, recommend themselves to his favor, and 
even if necessary, forward the catastrophe, or at 
least are afraid of incurring the displeasure of their 
fair divinity by assisting him to get into a boat or 
reach the shore. 

It is seldom, however, that they have occasion to 
carry so far their inhuman zeal towards any of their 
countrymen ; for a native, who should fall into the 
water, persuading himself that he is going to the 
abode of eternal felicity, has no desire to escape 
from it by any exertions to save his life. It some- 
times happens, that, in spite of themselves, the tide 
will drift them ashore ; in this case they suppose 
the soul not deemed by madam Dourga sufficiently 
pure to be admitted into her presence. The Eu- 
ropeans, however, who are little ambitious of the 
honor of visiting this lady, when by accident they 
fall into the river, endeavor to save themselves ; 



VOYAGE IN THE 



and it is well they do, for the natives, exerting all 
their speed, fly instantly from the spot ; and if the 
unfortunate being is unable to swim, it is all over 
with him ; he can expect no assistance unless one 
of his countrymen should chance to be at hand. 

The Indians bathe at least once a day, as the pre- 
cept commands them. I have passed whole days 
in looking at them ; men, women, and children 
bathe together without the smallest indecency. 
They leave their shoes on the bank, and sprinkle 
themselves as they go into the river; when they 
are up to the middle in water, they take off their 
apron ( pagne J and wash it, perform the ablutions 
directed by their religion, put on their apron again, 
and come out. Often some Bramius come to bathe* 
bringing with them a small brass vessel of the shape 
of a cencer, in which are some grains about the size 
of a pea : these they throw one at a time Into the 
river, uttering, in a low tone of voice, a prayer or 
two. They then sprinkle themselves slightly on the 
back, touch their temples with the first joint of their 
thumb, wash their apron, and retire. It is to be 
remarked that the ceremony of washing the apron 
is observed by every individual ; a proof that the 
precept was given for the purpose of cleanliness. 

As to the ceremonies of the Bramins, such as 
throwing the grain into the river, the practice of 
enchantment to prevent the tigers from destroying 
the natives, the worship of madam Dourga, and 
other absurdities, these are points which we must 
not too hastily condemn. They are seemingly ne- 
cessary to maintain among the people the prevailing 
superstition, while the more learned of the Bramius 
are superior to such mummery, and arrive, both in 
moral? and mathematics, to the highest attainments. 
Besides, where is the religion that does not iuclude 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



181 



name form, purposely contrived to impose on the 
multitude ? Even we, who are happily instructed 
in the purest of all,^ have we not our holy water, 
which is consecrated by breathing upon it and 
throwing in salt ? Yet would it not be unjust to 
form an opinion of the religion itself from this in- 
stance of its practice ? This, however, is the side 
on which it is attacked by those who would destroy 
it ; and perhaps the natives of Bengal, at some fu- 
ture time, might employ the same means to over- 
turn theirs, by ridiculing its forms, without attend- 
ing to its substance, were not instruction wholly 
confined to the cast of the Bramius, and the rest of 
the nation in such deplorable ignorance as to be in- 
capable of reflecting upon the reasonableness or ab- 
surdity of what they are directed to believe. 

It frequently happens, that the aged, when at the 
point of death, cause themselves to be brought to 
the edge of the river at the time of low water, and, 
being covered over with the mud by their friends, 
are left in this state to be overwhelmed by the tide 
when it returns, to the great edification of the peo- 
ple, who are persuaded, that they are about to be 
received into the mansions of the blessed. 

Besides the ceremony of bathing, the Indians pay 
a regular worship to the Ganges. They make of- 
ferings to it of oil, cocoa, and flowers, which they 
expose on its banks, to be washed away by the 
stream. When they have a friend at sea, and would 
offer vows for his return, they light in the evening 
some small lamps, filled with oil of cocoa, and 
placing them in earthern dishes, which they adorn 
with garlands, they commit them in the same man- 

# The author being a Frenchman, was consequently a cath* 



182 



VOFAGE IN THE 



iier to the stream : the river is sometimes covered 
with these lights. If the dish sinks speedily, it is a 
bad omen for the object of their vows ; but they 
abandon themselves to the most pleasing hopes, if 
they can observe their lamp shining at a distance, 
and if it goes so far as to be at length out of sight 
without any accident happening to extinguish it, it 
is a sure token, that their friend will return in 
safety. 

This madam Dourga, who has deified the Gan- 
ges, is held in great veneration : her festival is cel- 
ebrated every year in the month of October, and 
while it lasts nothing is known but rejoicing ; the 
natives visit each other, and on three successive 
evenings assemble together for the adoration of 
their divinity. Her statue is placed in a small niche 
of clay, which is gilt and adorned with flowers, 
pieces of tinsel, and other similar ornaments. The 
statue itself is dressed in the most magnificent attire 
they can procure, is about a foot high, and the niche 
with its appendages about three feet and half. All 
the rich celebrate a festival of this kind in their 
own houses, and are ambitious of displaying the 
greatest luxury, lighting up their apartments in the 
most splendid manner. Such as cannot afford to 
observe this solemnity at their own house, go to that 
of some neighbor : there is one of these celebra- 
tions at least in every quarter of the town, «o that 
all the inhabitants have an opportunity of paying 
their devotions. 

The room is furnished with seats for the guests, 
and the statue is placed on a small stage concealed 
by a curtain, as in our public theatres. The cur- 
tain being drawn up by the serv ants, & concert be- 
gins, in which the principal instrument is a sort of 
bag-pipe. The reed of this not being flexible, and 



INDIAN OCEAN, 



183 



the performer being wholly ignorant how to modu- 
late its tone, nothing can be less musical than the 
sound it produces, unless it be the tunes that are 
played upon it : the most vile and discordant clarion- 
et is melody itself compared with this instrument, 
which would literally split the ears of any other au- 
dience. In the midst of this concert the pantomime 
is introduced, in which the personages of the scene, 
uncouthly dressed, and insupportably disgusting, 
from the rancid odour of the oil of cocoa, exhibit 
some ridiculous tricks, calculated to amuse the hon- 
est Indians, who laugh heartily and give themselves 
up to the most extravagant joy. For two days evey 
kind of respect and adoration is paid to the idol ; 
but on the third appearances alter. They abuse it, 
call it a whore, show their posteriors to it, and load 
it with curses and execrations : this done, they take 
it upon their shoulders and carry it the the banks of 
the Ganges, followed by the horrid din of the bag- 
pipe, where, reiterating their curses, they throw it 
into the water, amidst the most frightful cries and 
howling, and leave it to its fate. # 

It is not easy to discover the drift of this ceremo- 
ny. The Bramin, who was my sircar, told me, that 
the festival of madam Dourga was instituted to per- 
petrate and honor her memory, retain the people 
in a devotion, which had for its object to give a char- 
acter of sacredness to the Ganges, and thus enforce 
the precept, which enjoined the salutary practices 
of frequent ablutions and bathing : but this lady not 
being the supreme deity, it was not amiss, he added^ 
to conclude the ceremony with acts of insult, which 

* There are further details of this festival in Stavorinus, cf 
which some are so humiliating to man, as to startle our belief. 
See his Voyages, translated by S. H. Wilcocke, Vol. I. page 



184 



VOYAGE IN THE 



would convince the people, that Brama alone was 
entitled to the unmixed and never-ceasing adoration 
of mankind. This explanation, though by no means 
satisfactory, was all the light I could obtain on so 
singular a practice. This is the only worship I ever 
knew that passed in its ceremonies from adoration 
to contempt and insult. 

The Moors celebrate also an annual festival, which 
they call Janisey. I did not obtain any accurate in- 
formation as to the nature of this ceremony, but it 
appeared to me to be of the mournful kind. A sort 
of funeral exhibition is carried through the streets, 
accompanied with banners resembling standards. 
There was a great concourse -of people* and every 
Individual had a stick in his hand, with -a small flag 
at the end of it. They walked in ranks on the dif- 
ferent sides of the street with great regularity. In 
the middle of the procession were some who per- 
formed feats of strength, and showed their activity 
by the most hazardous leaps bawling out all the 
time as loud as they were able. As neither the pe- 
riod of this festival, nor that of madam Dourga, is 
determined. by astronomical returns, they vary, and 
sometimes happen together : in that case, the gov- 
ernment is obliged to use the utmost vigilance and 
precaution, to prevent the most serious accidents. 
Whenever the processions meet, neither of them will 
give way to the other, and the ancient enmity of the 
two casts revives in all its rancour : the parties at- 
tack each other like furies ; the remembrance of the 
ancient victories of the Mahometans rouses a cour- 
age and inspires a confidence on one side, which on 
the part of the Indians are equally supplied by en- 
thusiasm, and they both fight with the most inveter- 
ate malice. Jamsey and madam Dourga are broken 
to pieces in the confusion, while their followers mur- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



185 



tier one another on their remains, and the battle is 
only terminated by the destruction or rout of one of 
the parties. A spirit of revenge produces a repeti- 
tion of these battles on the following days, and it is 
impossible to foresee the length to which the mas- 
sacres will extend, if the government does not pos- 
sess an armed force sufficient to restrain the com- 
batants. 

The inhuman custom of women burning them- 
selves to death on the corpse of their husbands is not 
yet annihilated in India ; but it is confirmed to the 
cast of the Bramins. When an individual of this 
cast dies, one of his wives is bound to exhibit this 
dreadful proof of her affection. This lamentable 
sacrifice is not imposed upon them by law, for they 
may refuse to make it ; but in that case they lose 
their character, are held in dishonor, and are de- 
prived of their cast, a misfortune so intolerable^ 
that tbey prefer to it the alternative of being burnt 
alive. Nature however revolts in some of these wid- 
ows, and it is probable, if left to themselves, that 
they would never consent to so cruel a sacrifice ; 
but the old women and priests are incessantly impor- 
tuning them, and representing, that after death the 
most exquisite happiness is their lot : as they are 
commonly young, it is no difficult matter to triumph 
over their weakness and irresolution ; they accord- 
ingly submit to the custom, and prejudice which 
ordains it keeps its ground. 

The manner in which this sacrifice is performed 
is different in different places. As practised at Ben- 
gal it is horrible. The funeral pile of the husband 
is erected near a wall, with just space enough be- 
tween for a single person to pass, that the widow 
may walk, as is the custom, three times round it 
A hole is made in the wall at the height of the pile ? 
Q, 2 



186 



VOYAGE IH THE 



in which a beam, upwards of twenty feet long is 
placed, with a rope fastened to the end of it, and 
hanging to the ground, for the purpose of making it 
osculate. 

When the widow has performed her ambulations, 
and taken off her jewels, which she distributes among 
her companions, she ascends the pile, and lies down, 
embracing the corpse of her husband. The beam 
is then but into motion, and falls upon her so heav- 
ily as to break her loins, or deprive her at least of 
the power of moving. The pile is now set on fire, 
and the music striking up, contributes, with the 
shouts of the people, to drow n the noise of her 
groans, and she is thus, in the full sense of the ex- 
pression, burnt alive. 

My servant, a very brave fellow, who had been 
discharged from the military service for the loss of 
a finger, and who disliked the Bramins, informed 
me one day, that a woman was going to be burnt 
at a place which he pointed out to me, on the left 
side of the river, between Fulta and Mayapour. 
Having enquired into the circumstance, I learned, 
that she was both young and handsome, that she 
had already twice put off the ceremony, but that the 
day being a third time fixed, nothing could longer 
defer it I conceived, that a woman who had twice 
hesitated, would find at least no great pleasure in 
submitting, and conjecturing:, that she might not be 
sorry to escape altogether, I formed the resolution 
of endeavoring to save her. I asked my man if he 
would assist me, which he readily agreed to, adding 
that he had told it me with the hope of engaging 
me in the enterprize. He requested that one of 
his comrades might be of the party, who was a 
bold fellow and would be of great use to me ; I com- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



187 



aiended his zeal, and accepted the proffered ser- 
vices of his friend. 

I took with me twenty good European sailors, 
whom I put on board my sloop, in the bow of which 
I mounted a swivel : I provided also a dozen mus- 
quets, eight pistols, and a score of sabres. Two of- 
ficers accompanied me, who were resolved to aid 
me to the utmost of their power. 1 encouraged the 
sailors by promising them the sixth part of the val- 
ue of whatever jewels the woman should have about 
her, intending to leave the remainder for herself, if 
she did not choose to stay with me. My servant 
and his companion were without arms, as it was not 
my intention to employ them in fighting. I dis- 
posed my forces into three bodies, in the following 
manner. One of (he ofScers and eight men were 
to guard the boat The other ofFcer and six men 
were to follow me at a short distance with pistols, 
but to reserve their fire till I gave orders. Six of 
the most resolute I selected to attend me in the busi- 
ness ; four of them armed with musquets, and two, 
who were to keep themselves close at my side, with 
pistols. The party who were left to guard the boat 
had musquets, and were to be in readiness to cover 
my retreat : besides his fire arms, every man had a 
sabre, and no one was to fire without express leave* 
Such was the arrangement of my force, and I had 
no doubt from the valor of my people, that my in- 
tentions would-be admirably seconded. They had 
all seen some service, and would bravely stand be- 
fore a veteran and experienced enemy, much more 
before men like the natives of this country. It 
was planned by my servant ar>d his companion, 
that I should go up to the widow and touch her : 
this was a violation that would deprive her of her 
cast, and she would then have no right to burn her- 



188 



VOYAGE IN THE 



self ; at the same time they were to tell her in the 
Moorish language, not to be frightened, but resign 
herself wholly to their direction, for that they came 
to rescue her. They were then to carry her off as 
expeditiously as possible, under the escort of the of- 
ficer and party following me, while I and my six. 
chosen sailors were to bear the brunt of the contest* 
that they might have time to reach the boat, to 
which I was to retreat when I supposed them safely 
arrived there. 

I hoped, that men, unarmed and thus taken by 
surprise, seeing a body of Europeans with sabres and 
pistols, would not have the courage to attack us ; 
but, being prepared to receive them if they did, I 
resolved to run the risk. 

My intention was to leave the woman afterwards 
to her own disposal, that is to say, to give her the 
choice of either going with me, or of settling at 
Calcutta upon the produce of her jewels, which I 
should of course have the precaution to bring away 
with her. 

My whole plan was prepared and ready, and I 
set out to execute it. I arrived at the place, and 
alertly jumped ashore. The arrangements agreed 
upon were made with precision. I advanced, and 
was astonished at the stillness and silince that pre- 
vailed. I came to the spot. Alas ! the dreadful 
sacrifice had been completed the preceding evening. 
I had been misinformed of the day. The wall was 
still warm, and the ashes were smoking. I returned 
with an oppression of heart that I can hardly ex- 
press, and as much affected as if I had been a wit- 
ness to the barbarous execution. My regret for 
this woman was as great as the pleasure I should 
have felt in saving her, and the idea I had formed 
of her youth and beauty. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



189 



It is to be wished, for the progress of our knowl- 
edge in the history of the globe, that the books of 
the Brainins, since it appears that we know some- 
thing of them, would instruct us as to the time 
when these people first made their appearance in 
Bengal ; a province which at that period must have 
been one vast marsh, and which without doubt they 
drained by digging the Ganges, and other great ca- 
nals, that serve to draw r off the water, which would 
otherwise cover the whole face of the country. Such 
an epoch, if it could be ascertained, together with 
the little elevation of tlie soil in this province, would 
form a basis from which inferences might be drawn 
relative to the retreat of the ocean. 

Till these lights shall be afforded us, w r e must 
suppose the province of Bengal to be of no remote 
antiquity. It is a vast plain, without a single moun- 
tain of granite ; the liitie hills which are met with 
are merely hardened clay ; and, except towards the 
northern extremity, not a stone, even of a calcare- 
ous description, is to be found. 

If we were assured by tradition, that the race of 
the B ram ins are the true aborigines of the country, 
and that it has been inhabited from periods more 
remote than our chronology can trace, this fact 
would overthrow the system, not of the absolute re- 
treat of the sea, but of its gradual and progressive 
retreat; for there are proofs so strong on the most 
elevated parts of the globe of such elevations hav- 
ing been formerly covered by the water, that it is 
impossible to resist their evidence. Accordingly 
Bengal, at some period or other, must have been in 
the same situation. This being admitted, the prin- 
ciples of hydrostatics will make it impossible to sup- 
pose this province to have been cleared of its waters 
prior to places of a more elevated position. If we 



190 



VOYAGE IN THE 



consider its trifling height, when compared with the 
Alps, the Pyrenees, the Gauts, and lastly the moun- 
tains of Thibet, which seem to rise proudly above 
it, we must suppose it to be a country in its infancy. 
The coast of Bengal is so low, that it cannot be 
seen at the distance of three leagues ; a heavy sea 
would overflow it ; and when the tide is unusually 
high, at the sisygies, the backs of the Ganges are 
under water. If I may offer the result of my own 
observations, Bengal is of the same age as the plain 
of India, which extends from the coast as far as 
the Gauts, or perhaps a little more modern. This 
land is all on nearly the same level, and must con- 
sequently have been left by the ocean at nearly the 
same period. 

If mountains; of granite be the primitive matter 
which constituted our planet when it first began to 
contract its solidity, we may say with Pallas, where- 
ever we meet with it : " this is one of the points 
most distant from the centre of the earth, for it is 
composed of a substance, which, formerly expan- 
sive in its fluid state, was projected by a centrifugal 
power." This substance therefore must be the most 
ancient of those which enter in its present state in- 
to the composition of the consolidated globe ; since ? 
at the period of the conflagration, it was the first 
that, condensing itself, yielded to the expansive 
force, which threw it from the centre to the surface. 
When I find myself therefore on a portion of the 
globe that has none of these appearances, I must 
conclude myself to be on a land of modern forma- 
tion. If we descend from the summit of these 
mountains of granite or primitive matter to the 
plain cf Bengal, which is scarcely above the level 
of the ocean, is subject to inundations, and does 
not afford a single specimen of any of the original 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



191 



substances of the globe, even those of a calcareous 
nature, which are evidently produced in the bosom 
of the sea, we shall be obliged to admit, that this 
low plain in nothing but the sands which the sea has 
quitted, and must be a country of very late date, 
when considered in relation to the past existence of 
the globe. 

Indeed no part of this country bears any genuine 
stamp of antiquity. I do not call such the monu- 
ments of human construction, which are swept away 
in the lapse of ages : I refer to characters imprint- 
ed upon those vast masses, raised by nature atone, 
and which the influence of time is insensibly chang- 
ing. But where are we to look for vestiges like 
these in a plain, as yet scarcely solid, and that can 
in no part be dug without meeting the water, which 
lately covered, and has but just left its surface ? 
The extraordinary fertility of this country evinces 
it to be of modern formation, and the retreat of the 
ocean is marked by irrefragable proofs. The 
Ciive-islands have evidently been formed by the 
sea ; the sand- banks called Brasses experience a 
slow but regular conformation, and will hereafter bs 
converted into islands, when the Clive-islands will be 
joined to the continent. The bank called Seareef is 
a new 7 bank, which the sea is adding to the others. 
Even the Ganges diminishes in depth ; a circum- 
stance that is not produced by the elevation of its 
bottom, for the violence of the current effectually 
prevents it, but by the water retiring to a lower 
level. When the French company was first estab- 
lished in this country, ships of war of seventy-four 
guns came to Chandernagore ; but afterwards they 
were obliged to stop at Mayapour, and at present 
can reach no further than Cadjery, a small village at 
the mouth of the river. 



192 



VOYAGE IN THE 



The conclusion I would draw from these argu- 
ments is, that the Bramins are not sprung from Ben- 
gal, but have an origin much more ancient than 
the existence of that country. An old oral tradi- 
tion affirms them to have come from the north : 
this tradition is accompanied with no proof, and 
corroborated by no authority, but is a presumption, 
notwithstanding, that gives weight to my conjec- 
ture. 

it has been supposed, that the Ezourvedam, of 
which we have a translation, was composed a short 
time prior to the conquests of Alexander. I dare 
affirm, that this book was never written at Bengal ; 
and should be bold enough, but for the respect I 
bear to his memory , to doubt the assertions of a cel- 
ebrated author,^ who has said, that it was in the 
neighborhood of the ©anges that manking first as- 
sembled in society* He scruples not to allege as a 
proof of it, the extraordinary fertility of the coun- 
try, which he supposes might determine its first in- 
habitants to settle there. But if its fertility in the 
early ages of the world had been so great, it is cer- 
tain that it would long since have been exhausted, 
and the whole country at present be as destitute as 
the mountains, which were in like manner fertile 
heretofore, and served for the subsistence of the first 
race of men who?n the ocean confined to their sum- 
mits, that are now barren atid naked. 

The situation of Calcutta is such, that those who 
are in possession of it are masters of the whole river, 
to the prejudice of the other nations of Europe, 
whose settlements are all higher up in its course* 
Accordingly, were France to augment lv i r military 
works at chandernagore, so as even to render that 



* Voltaire ; Essai sur let Moeurs s &c. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



193 



fortress impregnable, she would find herself not- 
withstanding, from the first moment of hostilities, 
completely cut off from communication with the 
sea by the guns of Fort William, the fire of which 
crosses the river and commands the passage. As 
Cbandernsgore would thus 6e deprived of every kind 
of succour, it must fall, if its garrison were only able 
to act within the walls. 

A little above Calcutta, on the same side of the 
river, is a small town called Bernagore, which be- 
longed formerly to the Dutch, but was exchanged 
in the year 1790, and now forms a part of the Eng- 
lish territory. It is celebrated only in the annals of 
debauchery. 

From this place the European establishments up- 
is wards are on the left bank of the river. The first 
Sirampour, or Fredericnagore, a handsomse Danish 
colony, situated on a healthy spot of ground, and 
which wants only a greater share of commerce and 
opulence to render it a very agreeable residence. 
The inhabitants are fond of pleasure, and the gov- 
ernor, lieutenant colonel Obie, with whom I was 
acquainted, attracted to the town, by the politeness 
of his behavior, and the entertainments he gave, a 
great many strangers. One of his daughters, who 
was married to count Shafaleski, gave an air of gaie- 
ty to the place : her assemblies were crowded ; all de- 
scriptions of foreigners were admitted to them ; there 
was dancing and no one sought amusement in vain. 

This little town is merely a factory, subject to 
the council of Trinquebar : it furnishes a few bales 
of goods to a couple of vessels belonging to the Da- 
nish company, which come for them annually. It 
supplies also one or two private vessels, which the 
privilege of the company does not exclude from this 
market. The commerce of the place is consequent- 



J 94 



VOYAGE IN THE 



ly very confined. Sirampour is almost wholly in- 
habited by emigrants from the other establishments, 
who fly thither as to an asylum under their misfor- 
tunes. The settlement belongs to the king, who 
keeps there a company of Sepoys, as a sort of po- 
lice. There is nothing worthy of attention in the 
town except the house of the governor. It is strik- 
ing however by its elevation ahove the river, which 
renders it pleasant and healthy, and it has every 
where a clean and prepossessing appearance. 

Opposite to this town, on the other bank of the 
river, the English company has a camp of ten thou- 
sand men, that furnishes Fort William with its gar- 
rison, which is relieved every month. 

Proceeding upwards, we find on the same bank 
the palace of Garati, a solitary remnant of ancient 
French grandeur, and which shows the scale on 
which the original plans of that people in Asia were 
projected. It is the finest building in India. The 
front towards the garden is in the taste which the 
Europeans have adopted in this part of the world, 
being ornamented with a peristyle of the Ionic or- 
der, after the Grecian manner. The inside of the 
palace is splendid, the hall spacious, and the ceiling 
and cornice are painted by the hand of a master. 
The front towards the court is entirely in the French 
taste, with no peristyle. It represents three build- 
ings, each adorned with a pediment, in which are 
the cartouches for bas-reliefs, which have not been 
executed. The court is circular, and in a good 
taste, and the entrance is by an avenue, that opens 
majestically upon this beautiful edifice. Garati is 
the common risidence of the French governor in 
Bengal. It has frequently fallen into the hands of 
the English, who have not always resigned it with 
a good grace, when the return of peace has brought 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



195 



back its right owners. It has always however, 
sooner or later, been restored on such occasions to 
the party who were in possession before the com- 
mencement of hostilities. 

A little higher, on the same side, is the small 
town of Chandernagore, the citadel of which is 
now only a heap of ruins. The houses, some half 
demolished, and the best in a state of decay, the 
streets dull and overgrown with grass, the air of 
neglect which every where appears along the walls, 
the breaches in some that are mouldering away, are 
so many tokens of the decline of the French power 
in Bengal. Yet formerly, under the government 
of Dapieix, this town was flourishing and opulent. 
The French, powerful and beloved, had the credit 
of rescuing the English when besieged at Cadjery, 
where they had been obliged to shelter themselves 
on escaping from Calcutta. Scarcely however 
were they thus restored to liberty, than, a reinforce- 
ment arriving from Europe, with intelligence at the 
same time of a declaration of war, they marched to 
Chandernagore, to attack the very men, who, two 
months before, had saved them from the fate of 
their companions, suffocated in the black hole at 
Calcutta, and to lay in ruins a citadel^ of which the 
defenders, by a generous interference, had prevent- 
ed their total expulsion from the country. The 
barbarians meanwhile, who put to death so many of 
their unfortunate countrymen, to whose memory a 
monument has been erected near the old fort at Cal- 
cutta, set them an example of true magnanimity, by 
letting the English fortress stand, after they had tak- 
en it, and even consenting to restore it. The French 
on the contrary had nothing restored to them by 
the English but ruins, which their ill destiny has 
not permitted them to repair. From that period? 



196 



VOYAGE IN THE 



Chandernagore has continually languished, and no# 
offers to the eye a mere scene of desolation. The 
town has a convent of monks, and a regular church 
provided with a minister, but they are both very 
poor establishments. Previous to the French rev- 
olution, the vessels of that nation were used in con- 
siderable numbers to anchor at this place, which 
gave it a degree of animation ; but the appearance 
^ of the" first sparks of that political conflagration 
drove the French from the town, and their sircars 
followed them : the only two houses of any consid- 
erable trade which they had there escaped, one to 
Calcutta, and the other to Sirampour. The agent 
of the French company, abandoning the whole of 
his stores, also took refuge among the English, leav- 
ing Chandernagore without commerce, without mon- 
ey, and without employment. 

The inhabitants of this small colony were still nu- 
merous, consisting chiefly of the crews of vessels, 
SO.st of whom were deserters. Such of the white 
inhabitants, as were not disaffected consisted of a 
dozen families, who had places under the govern- 
ment, and about two hundred aged seamen. A 
few revolutionary individuals contriving to enflame 
the minds of these last, a man, whom fortune had 
elevated to the station of advocate to the king, dis- 
tinguished himself on this occasion, and was partic- 
ularly active. A small colony like this could have 
no revolution to effect, and bad only to wait for 
directions from the mother country and obey them. 
The alterations rendered necessary by the new or- 
der of things might have been made without disturb- 
ance or convulsion ; but it did not so happen. Rev- 
olutionary proceedings were carried so far, that the 
governor, M. deM***, saw his authority despised, 
and was obliged to leave the place, and retire to 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



197 



Garati. The well disposed inhabitants, who were 
leading families in the colony, followed him think- 
in?: themselves in danger amidst two hundred mad- 
men, led on by an individual equally artful and ve- 
hement, and whose least threat was that of throwing 
into the river whoever should render himself ob- 
noxious to his party. 

The governor, unfortunately, and the command" 
ing- officer of the two companies of Sepoys which 
composed the garrison, being on ill terms, did not 
on this occasion act in concert. The former, in 
consequence of this misunderstanding, not expect- 
ing to find the obedience necessary in a time of in- 
surrection, and conceiving the armed force ^vhich 
should support his authority to be at variance with 
him, departed, in order to provide for his own 
safety. 

The officer, however, seeing the governor, his 
chief, quit the place, forgot the disagreement that 
had prevailed between them, and thinking himself 
bound to follow with the troops, retired also to Ga- 
rati. The governor might easily have perceived, 
that by such a proceeding the officer had no idea of 
enmity ; and accordingly, had he marched instant- 
ly back, attended by the two companies, he might 
have entered the town in all his authority, and have 
restored and maintained order, till he should have 
received instructions from Europe; but instead of 
taking any vigorous steps of this nature, he content- 
ed himself with making preparations for his de- 
fence, in case of attack. For this purpose, he pro- 
cured two pieces of cannon, which he planted in 
the avenue, and encamped his troops at the gate of 
the palace. Lord Cornwallis made him an offer 
of a sufficient force to reduce Chandernascore ; but 
M, de M**'*, in the true spirit of a Frenchman* de» 
R 2 



198 



VOYAGE IN THE 



clined accepting it wishing to owe no obligation 
of this sort to the natural enemies of his country* 
He feared the Greeks even when offering presents 
—Danaos et dona ferentes* 

Two days after, the Portuguese cast, forming a 
company among themselves, called topas, also re- 
paired to the governor, who thus saw himself at 
the head of the loyal and most numerous part of the 
colony, in opposition to a handful of malecontents, 
who w r ere besides in insurrection without a cause ; 
for no official intelligence had yet been received, 
and the governor was actually waiting for instruc- 
tions from France. In this situation he refused to 
take any measure against the rebels, and remained 
in a state of inaction in his palace. 

'The revolutionists meanwhile were not tranquil 
spectators of this conduct on the part of the gover- 
nor. Their first attention was directed to what has 
been called the sinews of war, and with this view 
they seized upon those sircars who had not had the 
precaution to make their escape, and exacted from 
them heavy contributions. These sums they appli- 
ed to the raising a body of three hundred Sepoys, 
which they recruited from the country around. A 
merchant, whose affairs were desperate, thinking 
thereby to retrieve himself, accepted the command : 
he was sure at least of subsistence for a time, and in 
reality this was all he obtained. A young officer 
of a trading vessel was lieutenant under him* By 
plundering the company's magazines, they obtained 
clothing for this corps, and a quantify of Madeira 
wine, of which they drank a part, and sold the rest 
to furnish their treasury. They purchased some in- 
different pieces of cannon, that had belonged to a 
merchant ship, and pot themselves into a posture of 
defence. Finding thai no one molested them, thejf 



INDIAN OCEAN* 



199 



suspected some snare, to guard against which they 
thr p w up some small enttenchments on the bank of 
the river, behind which they posted themselves, with 
the king's magazine in the rear, fortifying the whole 
with their paltry artillery. They called this their 
camp, and at night all their party were bound to re- 
pair to it. In the morning their leader harangued 
them, and fhey were dismissed till the afternoon, 
when they returned to their exercise. By the inac- 
tivity of the governor the storm was sufficient to 
thicken and the strength of the insurgents gradually 
increased, till accustomed to insurrection, they at 
length grew so familiar with it, that instead of con- 
sidering themselves ?s criminal, the governor alone 
appeared so in their eyes. Meanwhile, five hundred 
men, united in an enterprize of sedition, were not a 
body to be despised, and M. de M^** was wholly 
unpardonable in allowing them to remain in this 
state of security. 

Affairs were in this posture, when intelligence ar- 
rived, that the people of Paris had gone to Versailles 
for the king, and brought him to the capital, 
where they had determined be should reside. Up- 
on this, the ci-devant advocate, and a surgeon, who 
had joined his party, exclaimed, that the inhabitants 
of the other part of the globe had set them an ex- 
ample, which it became them to follow, and that 
Paris and Chandernagore should have but one rule 
of conduct They resolved therefore to march to 
Gbteati, and bring back the governor. This .advice 
inflaming their minds, and some arrack they had 
drunk having mounted into their head^, it was nec- 
essary to set out immediately, to quiet the clamours 
of tfee multitude. It was in the power of M de 
J4#*#, either to resist them with succession to se- 
cure himself by flight : he however did neither, but 



2G0 



VOYAGE IN THE 



suffered himself to. be taken, without firing a shot* 
and to be brought as a prisoner into the town, where 
he ought to command, On his arrival, he was shut 
up in a dungeon, with all the officers of the garri- 
son. With respect to the private individuals who 
had accompanied him in his retreat, they escaped 
to Sirampour, where they contemplated at a distance 
the first scenes of a tragedy, which happily terrnin- 
ated with a catastrophe less sanguinary than there 
was reason to apprehend. 

As soon as lord Cornwal'lis was informed of these 
proceedings, he invested Chandernagore, and de- 
manded that the governor should be given up. The 
insurgents had at least the quality of courage : they 
accordingly appeared at the barrier of their little 
camp with the matches lighted ; and the president 
of their committee declared to the English officer, 
that on the first shot fired against them they would 
put their prisoners to death and would never surren- 
der while they had a man left to defend their en- 
trenchments. The officer, who had not expected 
ap answer of this kind, retired, and other means 
were resorted to for the deliverance of the captives. 

The trial of the governor and his companions 
now commenced. The whole of this process was 
a striking example of mental dereliction and pas- 
sion. It was necessary at -length to pass sentence 
which was the point most embarrassing of all. They 
would willingly have condemned the supposed cul- 
prits to death ; but the French had not the power 
to carry a sentence like this into execution in Ben* 
gal without the approbation of tfie neighboring nabob, 
whom they did not wish to offend. Influenced by 
this consideration, they determined to send them in 
chains to the isle of France, whence it was hoped 
they would speedily be conveyed to JEurope, with a 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



201 



character that would conduct them at once from 
the vessel to the scaffold. This was during the reign 
of Robespierre. 

The pilot»brig, which they had in their possession, 
was equipped for this expedition, and the prisoners 
were put on board. This was precisely the moment 
lord Cornwallis waited for : he accordingly sent 
three armed brigs to chase the French biig, and 
bring it into Calcutta* The vessels at anchor in 
Port Diamond had also orders to intercept it in its 
passage. 

In consequence of these measures, the governor 
and his companions in captivity obtained their re- 
lease, and were brought in honor to the English 
settlements, where they remained for a considerable 
time. The inhabitants of Chandernagore continued 
in the same state of confusion : some commissioners 
sent to Pondicherry for the purpose of re-establish- 
ing order and tranquillity being unable to effect if. 
lord Cornwallis left them to the consequences of 
their internal dissenticns, till war was declared be- 
tween the two nations, when he took possession of 
the place and dispersed them. 

About a league above Chandernagore is the little 
town of Chinsura, the chief of the Dutch settlements 
in Bengal. This place has been long condemned 
-to inactivity, and offers nothing worthy of observa- 
tion. Its exports do not exceed, at most, two car- 
goes a year, which are sent in boats to Fulta, where 
the ships stop. Here, as in all the Dutch establish- 
ments, some Malay families have settled, and given 
birth to a description of women called mosses, who 
are in high estimation for their beauty and talents. 
The race is now almost extinct, or is scattered 
through different parts of the country ; for Chin- 
sura, in its €fecline 9 had no longer sufficient attrae* 



202 



VOYAGE IN THE 



(ion to retain them, and at present a few only, and 
those with great difficulty, are here and there to be 
found. 

On the same side of the river, at some distance 
above this colony, is Bandel, a small Portuguese 
town, in a sti«i worse condition than Chinsura and 
which would scarcely have preserved even its name, 
but for the excellence of the cheese that is made 
there ? and which is held in such request through 
the country, that it keeps up the remembrance of 
the town from which it is derived. 

AFTER staying three months at Calcutta, I 
sold icy vessel for a hundred thousand livers, and was 
happy at being relieved from the uneasiness I bad 
continually felt respecting it, and the injury it was 
daily sustaining, I thought row of returning to 
the Isle of France, when an aid-de-camp of Mr. 
Conway arrived at Calcutta with a vessel, which he 
had purchased on credit, and did not well know 
what to do with. I was nearly in the same predic- 
ament with regard to my money, and was desirous 
of speculating in the article of grain, by making a 
venture to the coast of Malabar, then afflicted by a 
most dreadful famine. With this view I hired his 
vessel, which I freighted with three hundred tons 
of rice. A few days after [ had concluded this 
bargain, he discharged the captain, and not readily 
meeting with another to suit him, he asked me to 
take the command of her myself. " If I engage a 
person in the ordinary way," said he, "he will 
deceive me like the one I have dismissed. If I se- 
lect one in whom I can confide, I must do it at a 
very, great expense, which I cannot afford. Take 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



203 



therefore yourself the command of the ship ; you 
must go for the purpose of disposing of your cargo, 
and it can make little difference whether you go as 
captain or passenger." I consented, and began to 
prepare for my voyage. The first step I took was 
to discharge all the Lascars. The blacks in the 
crew of my own vessel had tired me of this sort of 
sailors. I composed my crew of different Europe- 
ans, taking great care, however to avoid such of the 
French as had lately arrived, for fear of disobedi- 
ence or mutiny. I was fortunate enough to collect 
an excellent crew of thirty men, who proved a great 
service to me in situations which required resolu- 
tion and fortitude. I know not why I should rea- 
son with myself against adopting the notion, cer* 
tainly superstitious, that some ships are lucky, and 
others unlucky : this of mine was of the latter des- 
cription. We changed its name, which wa3 Cook, 
to that of the United Friends, and we embarked to- 
gether to realize its new appellation. From the 
moment I ordered a man to the capstan, toHhat of 
my arriving at the Isle of France, I experienced 
every imaginable vexation ; in short, this vessel ru- 
ined me. 

On the day fixed for our departure we could not 
weigh the anchor ; it was buried so deep, that all 
our efforts were ineffectual. My friend w r as averse 
to the idea of loosing it : but in the chapter of an- 
chors I was more deeply read than he was. 1 had 
lost seven in my former vessel ; namely, five at Cal- 
cutta, one at Pondicherry, and one at the Sechelles. 
At last I prevailed on him to go ashore and purchase 
another; and this done, I cut the cable. I pro- 
ceeded down the river with a Dutch pilot, who 
had the reputation of being skilful, and who gave 
us a proof of it, by running us upon a sand-bank 



204 



VOYAGE IN THE 



opposite Fulta. We drifted with the tide, drag« 
ging an anchor, but with so little resistance as not 
to lose the power of managing the helm. The ves- 
sel striking abaft was thrown instantly athwart, but 
fortunately being flat-built, she did not quite cap- 
size, though the heel was dreadful. It was then 1 
had reason to rejoice at having a crew of Europe- 
ans. The boats of the country, th \t were helping 
us down the river, immediately rowed away, and, 
believing that we must inevitably perish, faithful to 
their religion, left us to the care of madam Dour- 
ga. That fair divinity, however, probably did not 
conceive us sufficiently pure to be admitted into 
her presence, and we escaped for this time the hon- 
or of drowning. 

My pilot was so confused as to be incapable of 
acting, and, as he ceased to give orders, I took up- 
on myself the management of the ship. I began 
by raising the anchor, upon which I was afraid, 
when the tide should return, of being drifted. I 
then placed an officer in every boat, with a brace of 
pistols, ai)d gave orders for the first man to be shot 
through the head, who endeavored to escape with- 
out my. permission. I was preparing to shore up 
my vessel by the help of some top masts till the com« 
ing in of the flood, when she swung haif-round ? 
presenting her stern to the current. She was not 
however long in this situation, for the ebb being 
nearly run out, was prodigiously strong. She soon 
made another half turn, and in this instance came 
so suddenly about, that she cracked dreadfully in 
all her timbers : I feared she must have gone to pie- 
ces, but happily she still kept firm. I now felt the 
bottom, I thought, yield to the motion of the ship ; 
a moment after she swung round again, her stern to 
the current, and 1 plainly perceived that we had 



INDIAN OCEAN* 



205 



shifted our station. The pilot-brig at anchor near 
us made a signal, that he was himself in deep water, 
and if I could move a little further I should get into 
the stream : in short, after another heel, my ship 
dragged along the bottom, and the tide placed us 
in the channel. We had touched, it seems, mere- 
ly on a shifting sand, which had been unable to 
resist the force of the current, and the weight of the 
ship. 

I anchored at Fulta, very apprehensive as to the 
consequences of this accident. I sounded the well 
carefully, but the vessel did not make water. Still 
however I could not but believe, that a shock so vi- 
olent must have done some material injury, and my 
apprehensions proved in the sequel to have been 
well founded. I had the confidence in myself to un- 
dertake the voyage without insuring my cargo : but 
this accident rendering me more prudent f imme- 
diately took the precaution. Being now at ease on 
this head, and finding in the course of some days, 
that (he vessel did not leak, I put to sea, directing 
nay course with the view of making the island of 
Ceylon, somewhere about the flats. I soon found 
my vessel to be no good sailer, and therefore kept 
on my guard against the effects of the tides. I set 
sail in the beginning of November, when the cur- 
rents are rapid between Ceylon and the coast of 
India ; and knowing this, I proceeded with caution 
when I came within their latitude. I was obliged 
to keep near the land, that I might distinguish Ihe 
point I was desirous of making, while it was neces- 
sary to avoid going too close, for fear of a gulf. In 
consequence, when I supposed myself to have arriv- 
ed near the place, I was all night on the deck, ob- 
serving the lead, and keeping constantly in thirty 
fathom water, aware that, while this was the case, 
S 



206 



VOYAGE IN THE 



I could run no risk, the strait containing only from 
seven fathoms to nine. 

At day-break I witnessed a most extraordinary 
phenomenon, produced by the clouds. It was calm, 
the land appeared exactly on the proper point of 
the horizon, the hills were visible, the plain at the 
foot of them, the shore, the trees, every thing was 
perfectly distinct. It was in vain that I referred to 
my soundings to determine our distance from the 
land ; I could not refuse the evidence of my eyes. 
I sounded however again, and found still a great depth 
of water, though by the appearance of these objects 
it ought to be shallow. I was so strongly convinc- 
ed that it was the coast of Ceylon, that I- got ready 
an anchor. The illusion continued till ten o'clock, 
when, the wind springing up, it vanished, to the ex- 
treme astonishment of every one, and especially of 
myself. I continued my route, making a small cir- 
cuit towards the flats ; but the currents were so rap- 
id, that in four and twenty hours I found myself 
thirty leagues to the southward above my reckon- 
ing. All my endeavors to get in with the land 
were useless, and a sudden squall from the north- 
east assailing us so distressed my vessel, that the ef- 
fects of her accident in the Ganges began to be visi- 
ble by a small leak. The sea was extremely hollow, 
and from the effect of the tides very much broken. 
In the height of the squall, the mizen mast was car- 
ried away below the cap, which obliged us to un- 
bend the ntizen top-sail immediately. In doing this 
my best sailor fell overboard, and was never seen 
again ; the waves ran so high, that he was swallow- 
ed up instantly. I hoisted out a boat, which in 
two minutes was stove against the ship's side, and it 
was by the greatest good fortune, that the sailors 
who were in it did not all perish : instead of one of 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



207 



my crew, I had nearly lost eight. I was compelled 
to leave the poor fellow to his fate, and the wreck of 
my boat to the waves, and be satisfied with regain* 
ing (he seven, who had thus ventured their lives to 
save their comrade. 

This squal! greatly annoyed me, and rendered me 
very uneasy. I could not now regain my north* 
ing:, and I was afraid, that in spite of myself I should 
be obliged to visit the Maldive islands, which was 
contrary to my plan. After continuing, however, 
three days in this state, the weather became moder- 
ate. In the first part of the storm I had lost a fore- 
top sail ; and as my owner, from his poverty, had 
furnished me with a very slender stock, I bad none 
to replace it with ; but the mizen top sail being new 
and of no use, now that the top- mast to which it be- 
longed was gone, I substituted it in the place of that 
which I had lost, and in this condition was fortunate 
enough to gain Cape Comorin : all my wishes were 
then confined to reaching Cochin, that I might re- 
pair my masts and rigging. 

In passing opposite the coast of Trevaneoor, I sent 
my boat ashore to get information. When it re- 
turned, it brought with it the figure of an idol, re- 
sembling a lingam or priapus, which some of the 
crew had taken out of a niche in a bank, where it 
was exposed to public adoration. The design was 
but too well executed, for it was as indecent as the 
assistance of sculpture could make it. I reprimand- 
ed the officer for permitting such a theft, of which 
I could not see the utility ; but he alleged, that it 
was taken withoutjiis knowledge to serve as a tiller 
to the rudder, that belonging to the boat having 
been lost : in fact, they had steered with this phal- 
lus, the size of which may he easily conjectured 
from the circumstance. I am ignorant whether the 



208 



VOYAGE IN Tim 



degree of veneration paid to this emblem by the In- 
dians be in proportion to its magnitude. 

In the afternoon of the next day but one, I an- 
chored in the road of Cochin, and immediately got 
into a boat ; but it was so far to the entrance of the 
river, that I did not arrive there till night. The 
cockswain of my boat pretended to be well acquain- 
ted with the place ; but, notwithstanding his knowl- 
edge, he got me on a sand-bank, where the waves 
beat so strong, that we were twenty times on the 
point of overturning, or filling with water* The en- 
trance of the river of Cochin has this inconvenience 
attending it, that when the wind blows fresh it 
raises a bar, which, taking the boats unawares, 
often endangers, and sometimes sinks them. I 
was more than an hour seeking in vain for the en- 
trance of the river ; at last, after frequent risks of 
drowning, I got from these waves, and had now to 
find a part of the coast where it was practicable to 
land, for it was too late to think of returning, in a 
road so distant, and with currents so strong, 1 ran 
my boat aground, and drew it upon the beach; 
where leaving one of the crew to take care of it, I 
took the rest with me, and made towards the town. 
With my usual good fortune, I found the gate shut, 
and must have remained all night upon the sands, 
if I had not been told, that the haibor gate shut- 
ting a little later, if we were very expeditious we 
might still get in. We accordingly made all the 
haste we could, and arrived precisely in time. A 
passenger in my vessel, who came ashore with me, 
had a letter of recommendation to one of the inhab- 
itants, which he delivered the same night, and was 
invited to take up his abode at the house of the per- 
son to whom it wa« addressed. For myself, I went 
to the inn, the master of which, when informed of 



INDIAN OCEAN* 209 

the arrival of the passenger, sent to let him know 
that his chamber was ready, and that a place would 
regularly be kept for him at table ; leaving him, 
if he pleased, to reside with his friend, but acquaint- 
ing him, that he would have the same sum to pay 
as if he lived at the inn ; for that such was the privU 
ledge of his house, which was farmed to him by the 
government. This circumstance induced the pas- 
senger to resign the accommodation offered him by 
his friend, and take up his abode the next day at the 
inn. As for me the innkeeper desired me to give 
him a list of what I should want, telling me at the 
same time, that he had provided for me a palan- 
quin and servants. I observed, that having but a 
few days to stay at Cochin, and not intending to 
make any visits, I thought I could very well dis- 
pense with the carriage ; to which he replied, that 
I was at liberty in this respect to follow my inclina- 
tion, but I should find it charged in his account, for 
it was a part of his privilege. I was surprised at 
so extraordinary an instance of monopoly ; but con- 
ceiving it to be the duty of a traveller not to op- 
pose the customs of the country he is visiting, I 
submitted. 

I found the regiment of Meuron in garrison in 
this town. It is a Swiss regiment, but was raised 
in France, and is composed of Frenchmen, many 
of whom came to offer me their services ; and 
among them one in particular, who said he was a 
butcher, and who proposed to furnish me with such 
provisions and live stock as I might want at my de- 
parture. From the desire of encouraging a coun- 
tryman I accepted his offer, and ordered several ar- 
ticles, which he promised me on terms more rea- 
sonable than I could get them of any one else. 
These I did not include in the list which I gave to 
S 2 



210 



VOYAGE IN THE 



the innkeeper ; but the man was too well skilled in 
his trade not to perceive the deficiency, and he 
immediately .concluded that I was supplied with them 
from some other quarter. He said nothing, but he 
watched so narrowly, that he was soon informed of 
the affair. In consequence, he employed his hire- 
lings, who seized the whole of my purchases just as 
they were conveying on board. To get them out 
of his hands, I was obliged to pay him a duty, for 
this too was his privilege ; so that eventually they 
cost me more than if I had purchased them of him- 
self. So extensive a privilege made me cautious 
and I was afraid of taking almost a single step, lest I 
should unfortunately encounter some new instance 
of it. 

While I staid ashore, one of my crew deserted. 
Conceiving that I too had a privilege, that of claim- 
ing my sailor, I sent in pursuit of him ; but here al- 
so I trenched upon a prerogative. I was taken be- 
fore the fiscal, who reprimanded me, and gave me 
to understand, that it was the privilege of the hang- 
man to apprehend deserters. I had no great diffi- 
culty in making him sensible, that, being a stranger 
in the country, and unacquainted with their customs, 
I was excusable in violating them ; that, besides, I 
£ould have no idea of interfering with the functions 
of this grand executor of public justice. I was then 
asked for a description of my sailor, and two hours 
after he was brought to me by the officer in ques- 
tion. 

Though these anecdotes may be thought too tri- 
fling to be inserted in a work of a serious nature, 
they may have their utility in showing how cautious 
we should be in our behaviour, if we would shun, 
io a foreign country, all occasions of offence. 

Cochin is a Dutch settlement on the coast of Mai- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



211 



abar, and is their strongest station on the peninsu- 
la, since their loss of Negapatnam. I did not exam- 
ine it sufficiently to be able to give an accurate des- 
cription of it, but I supposed it to be in the form 
of a heptagon, the side next to the river included. 
The ramparts appeared to be extremely high, and 
very well fenced on the side of the land, and the 
ditch that surrounded them to be in a good condition. 
The Dutch company always kept a strong garrison 
there. 

This town has a separate government, so that the 
military commander is third only in authority. 
There is a civil governor, who is one of the com- 
pany's officers ; and under him is the fiscal, who 
holds the second rank, as in all the ether Dutch set- 
tlements. 

Cochin is constructed on a good plan, but the 
buildings are bad. The governor resides in a house 
scarcely better than a barn, situated on a spot that 
has no embellishment, and is overgrown with grass 
as the streets are likewise. All the houses are pro- 
portionably mean, and an air of wretchedness and 
inactivity reigns in this colony, as in the settlements 
in general of the Dutch company in India. With 
a little exertion, however, Cochin might become a 
flourishing place : its commerce in the article of pep- 
per might be rendered considerable, by holding out 
encouragements to merchants, and suppressing the 
vexations which foreigners experience on the part 
of the government. Its situation is admirable for 
the purpose, for it stands on a fine river capable of 
admitting very large vessels. The water, at the flood, 
is never less than twenty feet deep, and the harbor 
is sufficiently extensive for any ships, however nu- 
merous, that might trade to it. A number of small 
rivers and canals run into it, which facilitate the in- 



212 



VOYAGE IN THE 



land communication to a great distance up the coun- 
try, and would give extraordinary activity to com- 
merce. Its position at the extremity of the penin- 
sula renders it easy of approach in all seasons, and 
diminishes the danger to which navigation is expos- 
ed by the monsoon from the south-west : nothing 
but a fine day is necessary to enable vessels to get 
out, and even to reach Cape Comarin, from which 
there is a passage to any part of India, The teak 
wood, so excellent for the construction of vessels, 
abounds in this place, and many ships are according- 
ly built there ; it is indeed the most considerable 
branch of industry that is at present carried on. 
These advantages, however, are all in a great meas- 
ure neglected, and Cochin is in a state of deplora- 
ble languor, from which it will never recover, till the 
Dutch company shall think proper to change .their 
system, or the town shall be fortunate enough to fall 
into the hands of some other nation, that may know 
how to value and turn to account the resources 
which it offers. 

The inhabitants of this part of India are subject 
to a complaint in the legs, which is called by the 
names of elephantiasis and the Cochin disease. The 
leg swells prodigiously, without either the thigh or 
the foot being affected : in this state it resembles 
considerably the leg of an elephant, and thence de- 
rives its former appellation. The disorder is proba- 
bly occasioned by the quality of the water used by 
the inhabitants : there are persons also much afflict- 
ed with goitres. 

This country produces pepper, arrack, and cot- 
ton : we find likewise dried fruits and cardamoms ; 
but the last two articles are chiefly brought thither by 
the Arabs. Cowries also may be procured, by be- 
skeakiog them in time ; for the Maldives, where 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



213 



they are found, are at no great distance, and in the 
fair season there are always boats from thence, with 
which we may treat for them. 

The number of Europeans at Cochin, exclusively 
of the troops, does not exceed fifty ; the Portuguese 
cast amounts to about five hundred, and the rest of 
the population is Indian. Though the town is ex- 
tensive, and tolerably well filled with houses, it has 
the appearance of a desert. The temperature of the 
climate is the same as at Pondicherry, but the sea- 
sons are contrary ; the mountains of the Gauts form- 
ing a barrier which separates summer and winter. 
The seasons are not subject in India to the same va- 
riation as in Europe. 

The winds, with the exception of a few irregu- 
larities, by no means frequent, blow from two parts 
only of the horizon ; from the quarter between 
north- north-east and east- north-east for six months, 
and the remainder of the year from south-south-west, 
to west south-west. The passing of the sun across the 
equator determines the alteration of the season. The 
wind, while the sun is in the northern hemisphere, 
blows from the south-west quarter, and vice versa ; 
the currents also are then reversed, and follow the 
direction of the wind. These seasons are called 
monsoons. During the prevalence of the south-west 
monsoon, the Gauts, intercepting the storms and 
clouds, prevent them from passing to the coast of 
Coromandel, where, the weather being then beau- 
tiful, the season called summer prevails. The coast 
of Malabar, on the contrary, is at that period subject 
to violent rains and squalls, and there they have 
what they call winter. The currents run in a south- 
erly direction on the coast of Malabar, and on the 
other coast towards the north. Six months after the 
winds change to the north-east ; and the mountains 



214 



VOYAGE IN THE 



producing a similar effect on the contrary side, stop 
the rains and storms in tbeir course, and detain them 
on the coast of Coromandel, and accordingly that 
of Malabar has summer in its turn. The currents 
then run in a southerly direction on the former coast, 
and towards the north on the latter. 

By means of this certainty of the seasons, the most 
indifferrnt vessels accomplish their voyages without 
difficulty, by taking advantage of the winds and 
currents. 

Not being able to sell my rice to my satisfaction 
at Cochin, I was on the point of proceeding with it 
as far as Surat, when a captain who bad come from 
that coast assured me, that a scarcity no longer pre- 
vailed there, but that grain was very much wanted 
in Arabia, particularly at Mocha, where the famine, 
he said, was extreme, and I could not do better than 
go to -that place, which would prove to me an excel- 
lent market. I have $ince found, that he told me 
this with a view to deceive me, and prevent me 
from going to Surat, as he was himself purchasing 
a cargo of rice to carry thither : I believed his ac- 
count, however, and immediately proceeded on my 
voyage. 

In four and twenty hours I was in sight of the 
straits of Babel-mandeJ, which I cleared at seven 
o'clock in the evening; and entering the Red Sea, 
I anchored the next day at Mocha, about thirteen 
leagues beyond the straits. 

From the straits to Mocha, the navigation is per- 
fectly safe along the coast, and there is' good an- 
choring every-where : but the approach to t!fL town 
is dangerous, and in entering the road care must be 
taken both to steer and to sound with exactness. 
Vessels should never go nearer than thirteen fath- 
om water, on account of the sand-banks* and should 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



215 



then keep to the north til) the front of the town is 
in view, or the dome of the great mosque bearing 
east south east. They may then proceed in safe- 
ty to the anchorage, wheie they will have si* or 
seven fathoms, in a sandy bottom. The north fort 
lies between north-east by-east, and north-east- by- 
north, within about half-gun shot of a twelve pound- 
er. There is another channel near the south fort 5 
frequented by small vessels ; but I would not re- 
commend it, unless to those who are thoroughly 
acquainted with it : a vessel must moor with the 
best bower to the south, on account of the squalls, 
which in that quarter are very violent. The sea 
however is calm during their prevalence, being in- 
closed by the sands and reefs which shelter the 
road, while the sky, though the sun shines intensely 
hot, has every appearance of a hurricane. 

When the monsoon is settled, the period of which 
is from the latter end of November to the beginning 
of June, the wind, blowing from the south and 
south-south- east, comes charged with all the vapours 
of Abyssinia, and brings with it even the sand of 
that country. In consequence, the atmosphere 
seems inflamed, the sky looks red, nothing scarce- 
ly is to be seen at the distance of a league ; and the 
burning sand carried along by the wind every where 
scorches the vegetation. It is customary at Mocha 
to cultivate a greal quantity of basil plants, with 
which the inhabitants decorate their apartments 
and windows ; but these must be removed at the 
commencement of the southerly monsoon, or they 
would otherwise be killed, not only by the sand, 
which would destroy them, but also by the wind, 
the heat of which is sometimes insupportable. All 
communication with vessels in the road is then in* 
terrupted* 



218 



TOYAGE IN THIS 



A wind from the south lasts generally one, and 
sometimes two quadratures : but at the new and full 
moon it is commonly succeeded, for the space of 
three days, by a northerly wind, which cools the 
air, ^nd purifies the atmosphere. 

The road of Mocha is of a circular form, describe 
ing an arc, of which the chord is the anchorage : 
the two extremities of this chord are defended by 
the forts I have mentioned. The small vessels of 
the country anchor near the shore, by a handsome 
pier, built for the convenience of loading and un- 
loading. The seasons for entering and quitting the 
Red Sea are determined by the change of the mon- 
soons, which do not, as in India, depend upon the 
equinoxes. The last days of November, or the be- 
ginning of December, bring the southerly monsoon ; 
and from that period the currents set into the straits 
of Babel- mandel with a prodigious rapidity, till the 
commencement of June, when the wind veering to 
the north or north-north-west, they run in a south- 
erly direction.^ In the northerly monsoon, the 
vessels coming to Mocha cannot make the road on 
account of the violence of the wind, and are obliged 
to go to a neighboring bay to anchor, which howev- 
er they can leave in the intervals in which the north 
wind prevails. During the whole of this monsoon, 
those which are in the Red Sea must remain there, 

* This is confirmed by D'Apres de Manevilette. See the 
Neptune Oriental. This work is the result of the observations 
of the best navigators, and should be taken as authority, disre- 
garding the reports of some modem travellers 

While the winds blow thus in the Red Sea they vary in the 
gulf outside the straits ; that is, as a general rule, they blow from 
the east between November and June, and during the other six 
months from the west ; so that from November to June the 
wind is east in the gulf t and sou h south-east in the Red Sea ; 
and afterward f. r six months we$t in the gulf, and north-north- 
west m the Red Sea. 



fcNBIAff OCEAN. 



217 



do vessels being able to surmount the united force 
of the wind and the current. 

The pilgrims going to Mecca from different parts 
of India take advantage of this season. Whole 
'ship loads of these religionists often arrive, influenc- 
ed, many of them, by motives of trade, interest, and 
a desire of pillage, more than by devotion. Noth- 
ing can equal the disorder which they occasion in 
the caravansaries and other places. The inhabi- 
tants therefore are eager to furnish them with what- 
ever they want, that they may set off for Jedda, 
whence they proceed to Mecca. 

While I was at Mocha, an unfortunate English 
captain fell a victim to their wickedness. Several 
of them had missed their vessel in returning, either 
purposely, or that their Moorish or foreign captain 
would carry them no further, or that the crime 
which they afterwards committed was a precon- 
ceived plan. They wete twenty in number, and 
they waited on captain Nun, who commanded a 
vessel of the sort called grab, to ask for a passage to 
Bengal. As he was returning to Calcutta, after a 
profitable voyage, he desired nothing better than to 
serve these men, whom he could not well suspect of 
any evil design. The terms were soon agreed upon, 
and the article of provision was as readily adjusted ; 
for his crew being Lascars, and consequently Mus- 
sulmans, what he had provided for them would 
serve also for the passengers. He sailed and cleared 
the straits ; but the vessel had no sooner doubled 
Socotora, than these miscreants rushed upon the 
few Europeans, five or six in number, who had the 
direction of the vessel, and murdered them all, be- 
ginning with the captain. Some of the Lascars, 
who attempted to oppose them, were also killed, 
while others got up into the tops, and put them- 



218 



VOYAGE IN THE 



selves into a posture of defence. A capitulation 
took place, and they were offered their lives, if they 
would corae down and assist to conduct the vessel 
to any port, no matter where. They agreed, and 
for some days tranquilly seemed to be restored ; 
but as they drove about at random, and came in 
sight of no land, the assassins suspected some trick, 
and fell upon them again. Having had time how- 
ever in this instance to put themselves upon their 
guard, they resisted, and mixed their blood with 
that of their murderers. At last after a battle in 
which, on both sides, five or six were killed, a sus- 
pension of arms was a second time agreed upon, and 
.# le Lascars resumed once more the management of 
the vessel. The day subsequent to this affair, com* 
ing in sight of the Maldives, the pirates made an of- 
fer to the Lascars of the boats belonging to the ves- 
sel, in which they might get ashore as well as they 
could : they accepted it, and quitted the vessel, 
which sidce that period has never been heard of. 

As for the Lascars, they landed upon the first 
island they could make, but were sent to another, 
in which resided the king. They were treated hu- 
manely by thh prince, who ordered that a passage 
free of expense should be given them to the coast 
of Malabar. They disembarked at Mangalore, and 
had the presence of mind to declare themselves 
L;->*cars belonging to the French. Accordingly the 
officers of Tippoo received them as friends, and they 
were conveyed to Mahe whence they returned to 
their home. This tragical event w r as inserted in 
the public papers, and every exertion was made to 
discover the vessel and the pirates ; but the fate of 
neither has never been known. 

With the exception of a few Moorish ships, and 
one or two from Bengal* which come every year 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



as far as Jedda, the navigation of the Red Sea is 
confined to vessels, which they call daous. These 
are open boats without any kind of covering, and 
which a heavy wave would be sufficient to fill and 
send to the bottom ; h\\i they are rarely exposed to 
such danger, from keeping almost always near the 
coast. Often they will make their way, even be- 
tween the land and the reefs, which prevent other 
vessels from approaching it, but across which there 
are passes with which they are acquainted. These 
boats are of a handsome form, and may be brought 
to considerable perfection. They carry a single 
square sail ; and though the mast is ill proportioned 
and awkwardly placed, and the sail often formed on- 
ly of straw, they go through the water and perform 
their voyages in a very superior style. 

The business of the port of Mocha is performed 
by two large and very heavy boats, pointed at the 
ends, but how constructed I could not ascertain ; 
apparently they were put together like the boats in 
E rope ; but their shape was so singular, that I was 
at a loss what to make of them* They carry a 
mast and an unwieldy sail of straw, made of pieces 
about two feet wide, and five or six long, sewed to- 
gether. By the help of this sail, which it is diffi- 
cult either to hoist or to manage, they perform ex- 
peditiously the business of the road ; but every 
time they tack, being obliged to take it down before 
they shift it, they fall during these manoeuvres so 
much to leeward in rough weather, that they cannot 
get to Mocha, and are compelled to take shelter iff 
the adjoining bay, whence they come the next morn- 
ing to the pier.* 



*The latitude of Cape Babel-mandel has been determined 
hj a series of observations, taken between that eape and Cape 



220 



T07AGE IN THE 



Mocha is situated at the extremity of the domin- 
ions of the iman of Sana, in the province of Ye- 
men, on a small bay, formed by an island of sand 
towards the south, and a ridge of rocks to the north. 
On each of the points of land which inclose the 
road, the Arabs have built a fort. These forts are 
a wretched kind of circular redoubts, the founda- 
tions of which are masses of granite : the embras- 
ures also are formed of large stones or pieces of co- 
ral : but these openings, though tolerably wide are 
scarcely more than two feet high. The whole is 
surmounted with a building of bricks raised over 
the artillery like a crust over a pie, without any in- 
side work, even so much as a beam, to give it so- 
lidity. It is only of the thickness of one brick, so 
that the wind, the rains, or the firing of the guns, 
is often sufficient to bring down this roof upon the 
heads of those who are beneath it. 

These batteries, which a single shot would demol- 
ish, have a flag-staff ? on which the standard of Ma- 
homet is displayed every Friday : this is a red flag, 
with a white two-bladed sword in the middle. The 
figure of the sword is miserably, delineated ; the 
handle is extremely short, and the two blades are 
so awkwardly designed, that instead of a sword, one 
might take them for a pair of breeches. 

Saint Anthonv, to be 12 d, 43 m. north.— By D'Apres, is 

12 d, 45 m.— By Bruce, 12 d. 39 m, 20 s. 

Latitude of Mocha, 13 d. 24 nu— By D'Apres, 13 d 22 m. 
—By Niebuhr, 13 d. 19 m. 

Variarion north-west ; At Mocha; 12 d, 45 m.— By D'Apres, 

13 d.~ By Niebuhr. 12 d- 40 m.— At the straits. 12 d. 54 m.— 
By D'Apres, 12 d 40 m. 

The tides are 12 hours.- -According to Niebuhr, 11 only. 
The tide rises 4 feet -— According to Niebuhr 3 feet 6 in- 
ches. 

Longitude, by observation at Mocha, 43 d. 7 m. east of Pa- 
ris. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



221 



The town is of a circular form, and has six gates : 
of these, one is called the Sacred Gate, through 
which no foreigners are permitted to pass ; and if 
one should be rash enough to attempt it in spite of 
the prohibition, he would expose himself to danger 
from the Bedouins, who are always encamped on 
the outside, and who might punish his temerity w ith 
a dagger. 

The town is without a ditch or any external de- 
fence, and the wall all round is every where acces- 
sible. The foundations and first tier of the wall, to 
the height of four feet in some places, and in others 
only three, consist of large stones intermixed with 
pieces of coral, which proved that the materials 
were scarce when the town was completed, and 
that they used for the walls whatever they could 
find. Next to these stones is a masonry of brick- 
work four feet thick, and extending to the height of 
from fifteen to eighteen feet At the top a para- 
pet is raised of the thickness of a single brick only, 
with holes, through which to fire musketry. The 
platform may be about three feet and a half wide, 
and the whole is built so slightly, that on every vio- 
lent storm part of it gives way and tumbles into 
the town. This feeble wall is fortified every four 
hundred yards by a large tower, similar to the forts 
I have described, and in the same defective state. 
Those which defend the Sacred Gate are the only 
ones capable of any resistance ; they are in some 
degree firm, are covered, have even lodgments with- 
in, and perhaps would not, like the rest, be levelled 
by the first ball of a cannon. 

On looking at these fortifications, it is plain— 
what will hardly be credited in Europe — that, when 
a place i*» attacked, the assault is made by cavalry. 
Three or four shots will make a very large breach*, 
T 2 



222 



tOYAGE Iff THE 



wh*ch a further cannonade soon renders smooth and 
practicable for horses ; the cavalry then set off in 
a gallop, and the town is instantly taken. This is 
their only mode of assault ; they are ignorant of any 
other. Their artillery is in the same rude state as 
their military tactics. It consists wholly of iron 
pieces mounted on naval carriages, which they re- 
move with great difficulty from one place to anoth- 
er. I was strongly solicited to enter into the ser- 
vice of the 1man, for the purpose of taking the di- 
rection of this part of their force ; and for a while I 
would readily have consented, but for the fatal con- 
dition of the turban, which was not to be dispensed 
with, and which I could not ever think of without 
shuddering. 

The greater part of the materials employed in the 
buiMing of Mocha were obtained from Aden, a town 
that was formerly opulent : it is situated outside the 
strait, in one of the finest bays in the world. Its 
position is so excellent, that Alexander, it is said, 
would have made it the centre of the commerce 
which he purposed to establish with India. The 
iman of Sana, desirous of attracting vessels to his 
dominions, fixed however upon the little bay of 
Mocha, to which he annexed so many privileges 
and encouragements, that Atlen, notwithstanding 
the superiority of its harbor, and the impossibility 
of getting through the straits from the other, ex- 
cept during the particular monsoon, was abandoned, 
and all the commerce transferred to the new estab- 
lishment; so that Aden exhibited shortly a picture 
only of ruins. Mocha reaped advantages from this 
forlorn condition of its neighbor ; and is now con- 
tinually receiving stones and other materials from 
the wreck of that town, of which the vestiges that 
remain ar€ scarcely sufficient to determine what was 



INDIAN OCEAN, 



223 



its former extent. At a distance in the offing, some 
turrets and a wall are still distinguishable on the hill, 
at the foot of which is the entrance of the bay ; but 
the town itself no longer exists : a wonderful exam- 
ple of the inconstancy of fortune, which has remov- 
ed into a hole in the midst of a barren plain, where 
the water even is scarcely fit to drink, the prosperi- 
ty which a town admirably situated was unable to 
preserve, though enjoying all the advantages suita- 
ble to navigation, together with a fertile soil, among 
mountains and valleys, that gave health and pleasant- 
ness to the scene. One of the causes that contrib- 
uted most to the removal of the commerce to Mocha 
was, that the market for coffee being in the territo- 
ry of the iman of Sana, he wished to have it ship- 
ped from a port within the boundary of his states, 
and for that purpose laid upon the article so heavy 
a duty when it was taken to Aden, that the mer- 
chants to avoid this charge adopted the practice of 
shipping it at Mocha. 

Next to the gate called the Sacred Gate, towards 
the north side of the town, is the one called BabeU 
mamoudy. Th£ French consul has the right of 
making his entrance on horseback through this gate, 
without being obliged to alight before the house of 
the governor ; a privilege in this country that is by 
no means trifling, it is on a spot outside this gate 
that the Christians are buried who die in the town. 
There are two tombs, with an inscription to inform 
passengers, that they were raised to the memory of 
two captains of vessels trading to Mocha. The rest 
of "he premises contains only the remains of a heap 
of bricks scattered over the ground. It is from the 
situation of this spot that the children so frequently 
exclaim, Frangi, Babel- -mamoady ! which sigoifi.es 
Christians to the burying' ground ; a wish which 



224 



VOTAGE IN THE 



they express in running after foreigner^ in the streets. 
This hatred is deep, and would be difficult to ex- 
tirpate. 

1 was received upon my landing in the usual man- 
ner : a party of the principal officers of the custom- 
house, preceded by the French factors, came to 
meet me, and conducted me under the Bahar, or 
gate of the sea. The emir bahar was there in coun- 
cil, and gave me a place by his side. He rose up 
to receive me, laying his right hand u pop his heart, 
which is the customary salutation. We were per- 
fumed at first with incense of benzoin and oil of 
roses, and then with a sort of aloes wood, which is 
valuable and scarce ; it gives a smell in burning that 
is exquisitely sweet. It is in great request with the 
Arabs and Persians, who purchase it at the price of 
an equal weight of gold. They cut, and even grate 
small quantities of it to burn, and are careful to re- 
ceive the smoke of it in their clothes. After this 
ceremony, the emir entertained us with coffee, which 
I found it impossible to drink. The Arabs in gen- 
eral do not roast their coffee, nor make, as we do, 
the liquor from the berry, but use for this purpose 
the pulp only, which we throw away. This they 
dry, and make of it a slight infusion, like tea.^ The 
beverage thus made is extremely insipid, though 
deemed refreshing; by them, and of a more delicate 
taste than the coffee drank by Europeans ; but my 
palate, I confess, was not refined enough to discov- 
er its excellence, and 1 thought it scarcely belter 
than hot water. I could not conceal my repug- 
nance, which was not the way to confirm me in the 
favor of the emir, who was a grave personage, but 
extremely civil, and who had received me with con^ 



# Niebuhr says the same, page 49 ^ edition of Copenhagen* 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



225 



siderable kindness. I made my apology by means 
of my Bannian, who informed him of my dislike. 
The ceremony of the coffee being over, I was per- 
fumed again, and dismissed ; that is, the French 
factors conducted me to the house of the governor, 
amidst a great crowd, who shouted, sung, howled, 
and made such ioud and hideous noises that I was 
almost deafened. To do honor to my entry, the 
governor, as was the custom, had sent with those 
who were to meet me, two horses richly caparison- 
ed, and which were made to carry themselves pranc- 
ingiy, wheeling from side to side. The dust occa- 
sioned by their motions, and by the concourse of 
people that accompanied me, added to the heat of 
the sun, which was scorching, and the noise of the 
barbarous instruments with which they regaled me, 
rendered the journey almost insupportable, though 
it was a short one, for we had only to cross the 
square belonging to the custom -house : we proceed- 
ed however at a very slow rate. When we arrived 
at the governor's house, we bad to ascend a narrow 
flight of steps, at the landing-place of which I was 
asked for my sword. I refused to deliver it, and 
was preparing without further ceremony to return, 
when my factors stopped me, and the governor was 
informed of my conduct, who gave orders to let me 
do as I pleased. I entered the audience chamber, 
where an arm-chair was brought me, antiquated, 
worm-eaten, and large, like those which are delin- 
eated in ancient pictures of chivalry. I was plac- 
ed opposite the governor, and two soldiers with sa- 
bres and shields were stationed, one on each side of 
me. The governor, who was an old man, after sa- 
luting me in the manner of the Arabs, by laying; his 
hand upon his heart, made a sign to me with his 
finger to be seated, pointing to the arm- chair. As 



226 



VOYAGE IN THE 



I did not understand bis salutation and was ignorant 
of the meaning of his other motion, I disregarded 
the sign ; and, conceiving that he offered me his 
hand, I took it, and, to his great surprise, gave it a 
cordial squeeze. I observed a gesture in the sold- 
iers, as if to prevent, me ; but, whether checked 
by a look of their master, or of some other person, 
they did not touch me. I took my seat, and the 
first compliment being over, the governor asked me 
by an interpreter, why I had refused to surrender 
my sword. I gave him to understand, that, being: a 
military officer* a custom established in my country 
forbade me to surrender it without fighting ; and 
that it was deemed as disgraceful in Europe to give 
up our arms, as it would be thought here in him to 
give up his turban, if any one should have the inso- 
lence to demand it. He laughed heartily at the 
comparison and making a sign to the soldiers, they 
withdrew. I was then perfumed anew, and had 
coffee presented to me ; but my Banman telling him 
that I had disliked ibis beverage at the house of the 
emir, he sent to the apartments of the women for a 
pilaw which I was obliged to taste for fear of offend- 
ing him, and indeed I had no reason. to repent my 
compliance, for 1 found it delicious. He was high- 
ly delighted, and, judging from his civilities, I 
might have eaten my fill. 1 expressed my gratitude 
for the kind reception he had given me, and begged 
his indulgence and protection if, as a foreigner, I 
should fail of observing the customs of the country, 
of which I was ignorant ; adding, that it would be 
always involuntary on my part, should I ever be the 
occasion of complaint to him. He obligingly repli- 
ed, that I might in all instances rely upon him, and 
that he should be happy in giving me proofs of his 
friendship. At the same time he accorded me the 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



22? 



privilege of walking in his gardens, and particularly 
on Fridays, when I should be more he said at my 
ease, as it was the day of mosque, and he should 
himself be in town : I had only to send in my name ; 
but he requested, if I should be told any of his wom- 
en were there, that I would not go in. With this 
itbgle exception, I might bathe, and should be wait- 
ed upon whenever I pleased ; and he added, that it 
would be a pleasure to him to see me availing my- 
self of the liberty he had offered me. This amia- 
ble old man w?as not long governor after this period, 
as I shall relate ir> the sequel ; but, when reduced 
to a private station, I still continued to cultivate his 
friendship. He was a Sayd, that is to say, of the 
tribe of Mahomet ; in consequence of which he re- 
tained the green turban, and continued to enjoy a 
high degree of respect. 

The house of the governor is a large square 
building, with small windows looking towards the 
ground appropriated to the exercise of the cavalry. 
His seraglio is on the first floor of the building, and 
he lives himself on the second, for the benefit of the 
air : the interior distribution is the same as that of 
the houses in general. 

Near to one corner of this ground is a large car- 
avansary, which is occupied only at the time of the 
pilgrimages to Mecca. It is a large square building, 
inclosing a court, with a fountain in the middle for 
the ablutions prescribed by the law of Mahomet. 
The building is merely a shed extending round the 
court, without either door or windows, and support- 
ed by pillars. It very seldom rains at Mocha ; and 
the roofs of these sheds are so low, that, were it oth- 
erwise, the rain could not well annoy those who are 
under them. 

This spacious building has but a single opening. 



228 



VOYAGE IN THE 



which is the door. The ground before the front of 
it is of sufficient extent for the camels and asses of 
the travellers, who iodge at the caravansary at a tri- 
fling expense, of which the object is solely to defray 
the charges of keeping it clean. 

I was conducted back with the same parade to 
the French lodge, where M. de Moncrif, agent to 
the French marine, liberated me from my retinue, 
by throwing among the mob the value of a couple 
of piastres, in small pieces of money. 

I am happy to inform the reader, that my recep- 
tion at this place had nothing in it peculiar or per- 
sonal to myself; with the exception of the great 
kindness of the governor, it is the usual etiquette, 
every captain that arrives being received in the 
same manner. 

As there is a ceremony observed on arriving, so 
there is one also at departing ; which is to take 
leave of the governor. The usual time for this is a 
little before the third prayer in the evening, The 
visitor, when he comes into the presence of the gov- 
ernor, is immediately muffled up in a red Arabian 
robe, which is thrown over his clothes by two men, 
and which he carries away with him as a mark of 
friendship, and token of the hospitality of the Arabs. 
At my departure I received an elegant casimir robe 
of this kind, which I used as a dressing-gown for the 
remainder of my voyage. 

There are two European lodges or factories at 
Mocha, one for the French, and one for the Eng- 
lish ; and each nation has the privilege of having its 
own flag over its appropriate habitation. That be- 
longing to the French is a very poor building, of 
which the warehouses only are good : but the Eng- 
lish one is handsome, and can without difficulty ac- 
commodate the officers of five or six vessels. The 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



229 



French house, on the contrary, is only sufficient for 
the consul, so that every captain of that nation has 
to provide for himself a lodging elsewhere, which is 
a serious evil in case of any dispute with the people, 
who are extremely quarrelsome, and would pre- 
vent the French, if they could, from assembling to- 
gether, that, by taking them singly they might the 
more readily get the better of them* The English 
have the. advantage of a mansion that would main- 
tain a siege, and by being together they might de- 
fend themselves for a time* escape to the shore, and 
get on board their ships, in spite of the inhabitants 
and soldiers combined ; for the latter are so extreme- 
ly ill armed, that twenty resolute men with bayo- 
nets fixed would be sufficient to put any one of their 
battalions into confusion. 

Almost contiguous to the caravansary is the cus. 
tom-house, from which the principal part of the 
revenue of the prince is derived. The governor is 
at the head of this department, and passes half the 
day there in a pavilion by the scales, examining the 
articles that are weighed, keeping an account of 
them himself, and registering the receipt, which he 
pays without delay into the exchequer. The slight- 
est instance of negiect on his part would be charg- 
ed as an act of dishonesty, and might bring upon 
him very serious consequences. The governor, 
who had treated me with so much kindness, lost 
his place, and was heavily fined by the iman, for 
having omitted some item in the statement of a re- 
ceipt. Another Sayd, whom I saw in prison, and 
who professed great attachment to the French, had 
his feet as well as hands, loaded with irons, for pur- 
loining the duty on a small quantity of tobacco of 
about six pound's weight* It was by dint only. of 



W 



230 



VOYAGE IN THE 



money, that, after being a whole year in prison, he 
saved his life. 

The officers of government are employed all day 
long in his business ; every article of merchandize 
having an account taken of it, and being subject to 
a duty. The custom-house is a large square incis- 
ure, with a shed extending round it, where the dif- 
ferent articles are deposited, and remain till they are 
officially cleared. 

There are three mosques at Mocha, two of which 
are small, and the other large and handsome, with 
very high domes The Arabs do not use bells, but 
have men who stand in a little gallery built round 
the dome, and call the faithful to prayers, as loudly 
as their lungs will permit them. They are heard 
distinctly, particularly at night, vociferating in a 
hollow tone from these stations. To me nothing 
could be more awkward and unalluring than this 
method of summoning the people to the duties of 
religion. 

The Mussulmans attend the mosqnes regularly 
every day, though allowed to pray in their own 
houses ; but Friday is the principal day of solemni- 
ty, as Sunday is with us. On that day the gover- 
nor goes to mosque in the morning in great state, at 
the head of all the troops, both cavalry and infan- 
try. Having performed bis devotions, he is con- 
ducted back in (he same manner by the whole gar- 
rison, when the infantry form along one side of 
the ground before his house, and the cavalry per- 
form their exercise. The governor at their Jiead 
begins some courses on a gallop, which they call 
manoeuvres, after which the troops form in two 
lines, and charge, brandishing a long lance ; the 
horses are well on the haunches, which gives them 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



231 



the power of stopping shost ok their hocks, even 
when going full speed. 

To break the horses to this exercise their legs 
are tied together iu the stable, each fore foot to the 
Corresponding hind foot, with the distance of about 
twelve inches between. In this posture they con- 
tr.^ t the habit of drawing themselves up, and are 
extremely pleasant to ride : they are naturally so 
strong, that (his practice does not in the least injure 
their fieetness. There are several kinds of Arabian 
horses. The sort called Mascatt is produced by a 
mixture with the Persian breed, and is slender, light, 
and delicately formed : that of Yemen is a native 
of the country, large and vigorous, the head and 
loins square, and the chest thick ; in running, what 
they !o3e in lightness is compensated by strength. 

After two charges of this kind, the governor 
breaks a lance with some of the principal officers, 
and the rest in parties follow the example. They 
challenge and pursue each other, performing feats 
which require considerable dexterity. The chal- 
lenger gives the reins to his horse, which runs the 
whole length of the place in a gallop without stop- 
ping : his antagonist pursues him, and aims a blow 
at him behind with a slick, and which the address 
of the other consists in parrying with a similar stick. 
As every officer has one or two attendants, he gives 
them his lance before he begins the encounter, and 
takes instead of it one of these sticks, which is a- 
bout five feet long, and is used as a javelin to dart at 
his enemy. If the horseman that flies parries the 
thi *gw, and makes the stick of his adversary fall to 
the ground, he gains the contest ; but the princi- 
pal skill is either to strike off the turban of his ad- 
versary, or to dart the stick so directly on his back, 
that it may rebound, and the pursuer before it falls 



232 



VOYAGE IN THE 



be able to recover it. This is the more difficult, 
because, the distance being short, and the horses 
running full speed, the course lasts as it were but an 
instant ; of course a great deal of alertness is re- 
quisite. 

The Arabs make use of bridles similar, or near- 
ly so, to ours ; with bits like those which the French 
caii a gorge de pigeon? In riding they keep a very 
tight hand, so that the mouths of all their horses 
have the bars very much bruised. They a!so make 
use of saddles ; but the bows are so much higher 
than ours, and they place between the saddle and 
the horse such a quantify of cushions and cloths, 
that the rider is raised six inches at least above the 
back of the animal. In this situation, the heels 
hardly reaching to the flank, he can neither avail 
himself of a spur, nor are his knees of any help to 
Mm in keeping his seat : the saddle however is so 
elevated -with trussiquins both before and behind, 
that he seems to be placed as in a boat, from which 
nothing can dislodge him. They have housings as 
we have, and very magnificent ones, red, blue, and 
green, embroidered with gold. They have stirrups 
also but no spurs. The stirrups do not resemble 
ours, but are large copper shoes, in which they 
place the whole foot. As this shoe is larger than 
the foot, it extends at the heel, and it is with this 
extremity of the shoe or stirrup that they goad the 
side of the horse : a blow given flatwise produces 
very little effect, but a kick with the end of it makes 
the horse instantly obey, and gives him very great 
pain ; for it is generally so sharp as to be capable 
even of piercing the flank. 

The horses are not shod, the hoof growing so 
hard that it does not lose its edge, and has seldom 
occasion to be pared* 



INDIAN OCEAN* 



233 



These horsemen, when properly equipped, have 
each two attendants, a lance nearly twenty feet long* 
slender, and elastic, not intended to be thrown, 
two javelins about five or six feet, used for that 
purpose, a brace of pistols, and a sabre and shield : 
the last two articles are not worn by the cavalier, 
but are fastened to the saddle : their favorite weap- 
on is the javelin. The whole is furnished by the 
iman ; no one, as a matter of right, being allow- 
ed to possess a horse through the whole of that 
prince's dominions. These animals are all distribu- 
ted by the sovereign, who gives them to such as he 
deems worthy of this mark of bis favor, and takes 
them away again at his will. Every Arab of illus- 
trious birth enters into the cavalry, and in this man- 
ner receives a horse, which he maintains at his own 
expense, and may ride when he pleases. The of- 
ficers of the custom-house also belong to this corps, 
which is in this country as high a distinction as that 
of nobility in Europe* The cavaliers are very 
much respected ; they wear no uniform ; but dress 
every one as he likes, exhibiting a motley and un- 
couth appearance to such as have been accustomed 
to the regularity of dress in European troops. They 
ride in their benish and trowsers, resembling so 
many judges rather than soldiers, and have nothing 
in their air that is in the smallest degree military. 
To look at them, it is impossible to suppose that the 
whole corps could stand against ten well-armed 
men, notwithstanding the superiority of their horses. 
As to their single combats, it is pretty evident that 
in point of agility and skill no one of these cavaliers 
would be a match for an hussar ; not but that most 
of them are skilful in the management of their hors- 
es, * hich are often however of themselves sufficient- 
ly tractable. A young Sayd who was my neigh* 
U 2 



234 



VOYAGE IN THE 



bor, and brother of him whom I have mentioned as 
being in prison and irons, was desirous one day of 
giving me a specimen of his address in horseman- 
ship. He fixed his long lance in the ground, and 
without letting it go put his horse into a canter round 
it^ first to the right and then to the left^ changing 
his hand under his right ami, without for a moment 
stopping hh horse, or quittting his hold of the 
lance. 

The foot soldiers are taken from the mass of the 
people ; they are a most wretched body of troops, 
without the slightest idea of military movements ; 
they march in confusion, and are with difficulty 
drawn up in files three deep. The dress of these 
soldiers consists of a linen shirt in the manner of the 
country, and a drapery of coarse brown cloth. The 
commander is armed with a battle-axe, and the 
soldiers with match-locks, of the most ancient con- 
struction. The match is carried in the right hand, 
but the soldier applies it to the pan with his left in 
such a manner that in doing it he can preserve no 
steadiness, and generally burns either his hand or 
his whisker. Their pay is barely sufficient for their 
subsistence ; and even what they receive is very 
irregularly issued. If a complaint be at any time 
made to the sovereign against a person that is rich, 
he is fined a certain sum and turned over to the 
military, to whom it is consigned as pay, either in 
arrear or advance. The soldiers are fond of being 
paid in this way, because the collection vesting in 
themselves, they are sure of getting it ; they will 
besides admit of no delay, and in doing themselves 
justice are apt to exceed rather than fall short of 
the sum that is imposed. 

These soldiers arc- brought with great difficulty 
to any degree of discipline. They are composed of 



INDIAN OCEAN". 



235 



die lower order of people in the towns, the inhabit- 
ants of the mountain, and some Bedouins, or Arabs 
of the desert, who enlist from being unable to main- 
tain themselves at home. They are black, with 
shining or frizzled hair, according as they are of 
Arabian or Abyssinian extraction, but generally 
the former. The nobility are almost white, their 
copper tint being so light, that many of the Say ds 
are fairer than the quadroons in our colonies. The 
children resulting from an inteicourse of these Sayds 
with their Abyssinian slaves have a mixture of the 
African characteristics ; but those produced from 
women of their own race perpetuate its beauty, and 
have every other Asiatic distinction. They supply 
their seraglios with females from Abyssinia, of 
whom whole cargoes arrive at a time. I have seen 
among them some women of exquisite beauty ; they 
are black, but nothing is so bewitching as their form, 
or so elegant and gracious as their motions. I was 
one day so struck with one of these slaves as she 
landed from her daou, that I instantly made a pro- 
posal by my Bannian to purchase her : she lifted 
up a dirty piece of coarse blue cloth, which served 
her for a veil, and exposed a most charming figure. 
I inquired her price ; but the merchant, seeing it 
was a Christian who wanted her, answered, that- he 
supposed my Bannian to have spoken in behalf of 
some Mussulman, and refused to treat with me. 

Besides these girls, the Abyssinians send also cat- 
tle to this market, and among them a species of 
sheep of the African breed, with large tails and 
long hair, precisely like those at the Cape of Good 
Hope. 

A great number of Bedouins repair to Mocha, 
to purchase such articles as they want. They are 
Arabs of a vagabond - tribe, wandering about the 



236 



VOYAGE IN THE 



mountains. Their dress and appearance are by no 
means prepossessing ; and as to manners, (bey are 
in general morose, insolent, and to an offensive 
word will often reply with a stroke ©f a dagger. 
They are the more dangerous as they do not hesi- 
tate to fall many upon one. They usually encamp 
without the Sacred Gate where their camels are an 
obstruction to the passage. Their complexion 
is black, and they have shidng black hair. They 
are robust and well made, have a savage aspect, go 
always armed to the very chin, and are extreruely 
quarrelsome. I had some of them introduced to 
my house for the purpose of being acquainted with 
them, and I treated them with hospitality to prej- 
udice them in my favor, intending to visit a small 
town called Moza, about four leagues distant in 
the mountains ; and as I wished to goon horseback 
without attendants, and to walk about freely in the 
day, I should be liable frequently to meet great 
numbers of them. Most of them refused what I 
offered ; others, while eating my pilaw, could rot 
lay aside their ferdfjty : one only violated their pre- 
cept by accepting some brandy : he assured me af- 
terwards, that their tribe would do me no injury, 
which I found to be true. 1 have passed frequently 
since through a troop of these people, and have 
stopped to look at their camels, without their ex- 
pressing either dissatis faction or pleasure. 

Mocha is built on a very indifferent fjlan ; the 
streets are well adapted to the country, but an Euro- 
pean would think them disagreeable ; the houses are 
lofty, and the streets narrow, for the purpose of being 
shaded. This method, which would seemingly 
check the circulation of the air, contributes how- 
ever to keep the streets cool ; and when the weath- 
er is hot they are frequently watered. There is 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



237 



not a street in the whole town sufficiently wide for 
a cart to pass through, and it is as much as the 
camels when loaded can effect. 

The middle of the town is occupied by the bazar, 
of which half is covered in, deriving light from 
holes made at regular distances in the roof. This 
bazar is a perfect labyrinth, in which I was twenty 
times lost. It is under the covered part of the 
building that the market for dry goods, such as lin- 
en, silks, glass, porcelain, &c. is held. At one end 
of it is the street leading to the Sacred Gate, and it 
is here that grain, dry fruit, oil, grease, &c. are ex- 
posed to sale. The smell of this part of the bazar is 
dreadful. The Arabs make great use of asa-jcetida, 
and the market was at all times full of this commod- 
ity. The stench arising from it, added to the smell 
of the oil, was intolerable to me ; and whenever, 
compelled by business, I passed that way, though I 
escaped as expeditiously as possible, the odour still 
followed me, and I was obliged to hasten home and 
fumigate my clothes with incense- to destroy the 
effluvia of this odious drug, of which I can now 
scarcely write the name without resorting in like 
manner to the use of perfumes. 

The population of Mocha is very considerable ; 
I reckon it at eighteen thousand souls, exclusively 
ef the camp of the Jews, which is clote to the south 
side of the town. The houses are all built of brick, 
with extremely small openings for light, except the 
blind on each story, which is an enclosed balcony, 
with apertures to look through. They resemble at 
a distance the balconies in Spain, and at first sight 
Mocha has very much the appearance of a Spanish 
town. 

The houses have uniformly ar2:amasse roofs, with 
a little shed, called pandals^ erected on tfaem ? and 



238 



VOYAGE Iff THE 



covered with matting on account of the dew, which 
is heavy here, as in a 1 couiotries where there is very 
little rain : under these pandals the inhabitants pass 
the evening, and frequently the night. For myself, 
I could sleep no where else, not only from the via* 
lence of the heat, hut on account also of the cats. 
This town is the patrimony of these animals ; noth- 
ing can equal their voraciousness and disposition to 
theft. The windows being obliged to be open all 
flight for the sake of the air, they have an opportu- 
nity of entering and rummaging the apartments, 
where they squall, and make so terrible a racket, 
that it is impossible to sleep ; and instead of going 
away when they are driven, they will grovil, set up 
their backs in defiance, and almost attack you. I 
killed or caused to be killed every four-and-twenty 
hours half a dozen regularly of these animals ; but 
they were the leraian hydra, the more I destroyed, 
the greater number returned. At last I resigned to 
them my apartment, and went on the house top to 
sleep where they gave me oo disturbance. 

The houses of the Arabs are ranch less conven- 
ient than ours. The most useful articles of their fur- 
niture are in the highest decree awkward : their locks 
in particular are master-pieces of ignorance ; the 
bos, springs, bolt, key, are ail made of wood, and 
so unwieldy as to weigh at least twenty pounds ; 
nor do they answer the purpose for which they are 
intended ; any key will open them as well as that 
which was made for the purpose, and which will 
often indeed not do so. The houses are almost all 
built on the mine plan. The staircase leads to a 
large antechamber, common to the whole floor, hav- 
ing the apartments round it. Instead of pavement 
or flooring, they have slight beams of palm- wood 
covered wiih straw, and over this lime. This sort 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



239 



of floor has very little solidity, and is never level, 
so that a table with four legs will seldom stand firm. 
The hall in which visitors are received is covered 
with a carpeting of straw, and has a mattress laid 
round the sides, on which are a great quantity of 
cushions to sit or lie upon at pleasure, with small 
Persian carpets at the feet, when the intention is to 
be sumptuous. Above, all round the room, is one 
or more shelves loaded with porcelain, which is the 
luxury of the country. They have no looking- 
glasses, nor any costly articles of fnrniture : porce* 
lain constitutes the whole of their decorations. In 
the/middle of the room a kind of garden is erected 
in the form of an amphitheatre, the centre of which 
is occupied by a large hooka furnished with pipes 
for the use of the company, and the circumference 
with pots of flowers, and particularly basil, which is 
highly esteemed. 

The great felicity of an Arab is to be in a current 
of air, lolling upon a pile of cushions, imbibing the 
vapor of perfumes which are burnt at his side, and v 
smoking supinely his hooka, with no thought, no 
care to molest him, persuaded that the next day will 
bring with it a return of the same indolence, and 
the same enjoy meuts. The first story of a house 
is usually occupied by the women, who are seldom 
to be seen, and who have a small court appropriated 
to them in the inner part of the building, towards 
which their balconies look. 

One of our friends, not very rich, of (he race of 
the inhabitants of the mountains, and of course ex- 
tremely black, gave us one day an invitation to his 
house, which we readily accepted. He introduced 
us into an apartment similar to the one I have de- 
scribed. I was desirous of seeing his seraglio, and 
I requested the fovor of him, but to no purpose ; 



240 



VOYAGE IN THE 



he would not consent. Finding me earnest in this 
point, he alleged at last motives of religion, which 
silenced me ; but, in consequence of my importuni- 
ty, he suffered his women to drink their sherbet with 
us. They were three in number, and were veiled; 
one of them was his sister. We were talking Por- 
tuguese, and were jovial and merry ; but as soon as 
they entered, he begged us to assume a graver de- 
portment. The sherbet was brought, and I waited 
expecting the women to unveil: but no ; they re- 
ceived their cups with a salam,* and drank under 
their veils. The extreme blackness of their hands 
in some degree moderated my desire of seeing their 
faces, and there was besides nothing very alluring 
in their figure ; yet, like a true Frenchman, I con- 
ceived it a mark of politeness to express the wish, 
that, by seeing, I might have an opportunity of ad- 
miring them. Our friend however would by no 
means consent to this, except as to his sister ; and 
here he previously enjoined on us the greatest cir- 
cumspection, which we promised to observe. She 
was then ordered to unveil. At first she made an 
appearance of hesitating ; but a repetition of the 
command determined her, and she let down an our- 
gandi that was fastened to her head, and discovered 
a handsome negro person, with fine eyes, prominent 
bosom, and a delicate skin. From being exposed 
in this manner to the gaze of two Christians, she 
appeared to suffer pain, and sat in a state of embar- 
rassment difficult to be expressed, casting down her 
eyes, without daring to look at us. Her brother 
meanwhile was watching all her motions. At last 
proposing to me a cup of sherbet, I said that I would 
take one with pleasure, if his sister would do me 
the honor to present it to me. This seemingly 
# A sort of salutation or compliment* — T. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



241 



displeased him, for he made her a sign, upon which 
the veil was resumed, and the three women with- 
drew instantly. After this, he would never admit 
his sister into my presence. I was piqued at his con- 
tinued refusal, and endeavored in every way I 
could devise to obtain without his knowledge a sight 
of her. He however heard of my proceedings, and 
reproached me in terms expressive not only of the 
danger I was incurring, but of the ingratitude with 
which I requited his friendship. His remonstrances 
made me ashamed of my conduct; and I gave up a 
pursuit which honor forbade, and a temporary de- 
reliction of duty had tempted me to carry too far. 

The dress of the Arabs is well understood, yet 
in our theatres the Turkish turban is continually con- 
founded with theirs. The turban of the Arabs has 
one, and sometimes two pendants behind, like the 
mitre of our bishops, distinguishing it from that of 
(he other Mussulmans. These pendants are mere- 
ly the ends of the cloth of which the turban is made. 

Their benish or robe, in the fulness of the body 
and the sleeves, is nearly like that of the benedictine 
monks. Under this, they have a silk coat, cover- 
ing a tunic (jacket without sleeves) of linen, or oth- 
er light materials ; and underneath these again, a 
piece of linen, muslin, or some similar stuff, in the 
manner of drawers. The form in which this last is 
worn between the legs gives it a little the appear- 
ance of breeches, that is, it covers the thighs toler- 
ably well as low as the knees ; but it slides up when 
they ride on horseback, and they are obliged to cov- 
er their nakedness with their robe. Their sash or 
girdle is sometimes exceedingly large, for they w ear 
no pockets, but fasten every thing they have to car- 
ry round their loins. 

They are always armed with a poiguard ; but it 
W 



$42 



VOYAGE Itf THE 



differs greatly from the weapon bearing that name 
in Europe. The blade is wide, smooth, and curv- 
ed, with two ridges on the sides, commencing at 
the broadest part, and meeting at the point. The 
handle is short aod sloping in the middle, so that 
the end answering to the pommel, extending be- 
yond the hand, prevents the instrument from sliding 
and gives a firm hold. The shape of this weapon 
Is altogether a curve, nearly like the figure denoting 
a parenthesis ; so that the wound which it makes, 
though extremely wide, is difficult to be probed, 
from not being straight. The A rabs generally strike 
downwards, or else from left to right ; in the form- 
er case, the bend or curve of the poignard is below, 
and in the latter the point is directed inwards. 

The whole dress of the Arabs is admirably adapt- 
ed to the climate. Nothing can be more refreshing 
than their ample garments, which allow a free circu- 
lation of the ail , leave all the joints of the body un- 
restrained, and impede none of its motions. 

Mahomet had a strong partiality for the colours 
of green and red ; and these colors have on this 
account been appropriated to such Arabs as are de- 
scended from him, or belong to his tribe* Those 
who consider themselves as his descendants assume 
the title of Sayd, and are greatly respected. There 
were three of these personages at Mocha, of whom 
two having incurred the displeasure of the iman, one 
was put into irons, and the other deprived of his 
place of governor : for these gentry, notwithstand- 
ing the estimation in which they are held by the peo- 
ple, are equally subjected with the rest of the nation 
to the will of the sovereign,, who punishes them even 
less sparingly wh^n they transgress, as indulgence 
in that respect would embolden and perhaps ren- 
der them dangerous. In the hands of prejudice 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



243 



or fanaticism, the title they enjoy might be convert- 
ed into a formidable instrument . it is therefore the 
policy of the sovereign to give them a feeling of their 
dependence, lest, availing themselves of the name 
of Mahomet, they should attempt to thro*? off the 
yoke. Their mark of distinction is a green turban, 
of which they are extremely jealous. They seldom 
wear a red one, or a red robe, green being their fa- 
vorite colour, from its a supposed superiority. The 
privilege of wearing it extends also to the principal 
officers of government, but only while they are in 
office : the governor of Mocha has a green robe 
and turban, while he occupies that station ; but if 
not a Sayd, as soon as his place is taken from him, 
be resigns these marks of distinction, whereas the 
Sayds always retain them.* 

The Arabs divide the day into four-and-twenty 
hours, as we do, beginning with six in the evening. 
When they purchase any of our watches, they put 
the hand at sunset to twelve, and as the figures or^ 
the plate are different from theirs, the handle serves 
as a mark to direct them in counting : so that when 
the hand comes round to'this mark, instead of call- 
ing it twelve o'clock, as we do, they call it six. In 
their division of the year they reckon by lunations, 
and are very exact in announcing the appearance of 
a new moon : there is even a reward for the first 
who discovers it. As soon as it is perceived, a piece 
of ordnance is discharged at one of the batteries, and 
the inhabitants of the town make great rejoicings. 
They first go to prayers, and afterwards spend the 
rest of the day as a festival in their families. 

At the distance of about five hundred paces from 
Mocha, to the south, the Jews have a camp, where 

* Niebuhr, p. 10, is of a different opinion as to the green 
turban, 



244 



TOYAGE IN THE 



they live in straw huts. They are prohibited from 
residing in the town, but are at liberty to do as they 
please in their camp, which is often riotous enough: 
for the Mahometans not admitting the use of strong 
liquors among them, the sailors can no where pro- 
cure any but of the Jews, who sell them bad arrack, 
distilled from rice. These Jews are numerous, 
their population amounting to twelve or fifteen hun- 
dred. I did not observe among; them a single indi- 
vidual who was not a complete negro : they have 
sleek and shining hair, and are similar io all respects 
to the Farias in India. 

If the Jewish families of Europe, and the celebra- 
ted beauties we sometimes find among their women, 
are really descended from the same stock as the 
Jews of Mocha ; if, faithful to the prejudice which 
forbids tliem from intermarrying with families of 
a different religion, the descent has thus been pre- 
served strictiy Jewish on each side without adulter- 
ation ; we have nothing to which to impute the dif- 
ference I have described, but the operation of cli- 
mate. Their black colour would then riot "be in- 
herent in their race, but would merely be a change 
effected by the sun. I do not pretend to support 
ibis hypothesis by a fact of so dubious a nature as 
the difference of colour. On the contrary, I am 
convinced that the eastern Jews must anciently have 
intermixed with European families, anck that an an- 
cestry of five hundred years, purely Jewish, with- 
out any alloy whatever, cduld not be found among 
them. Be this as it may, the Jews of Mocha are 
poor and oppressed, are the reverse of handsome, 
and very uncleanly. Those young females in the 
synagogues at Hamburg or Amsterdam, who gain an 
admirer by every glance, would be shocked at the 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



245 



idea of being compared even with the most captiva- 
ting beauties among their tribe at Mocha. 

Besides that of the Jews, another strange cast is 
tolerated here even in the town itself : these are the 
Bannians. Of all the variety of religions, sects, so- 
cieties, and casts which exist, that of the Barmians, 
beyond contradiction, is the one that does most 
honor to humanity. In the exercise of the social 
virtues they have no parallel. One of their chief 
precepts, as is well known, is to love every thing 
that breathes, to assist every thing that is in pain, to 
abhor the spilling of blood, and to abstain from food 
that has enjoyed life ; and they practice this precept 
in its utmost rigour. Nothing can induce them to 
take any other nourishment than milk, butter, 
cheese, rice, and vegetables. They are particular- 
ly tender in their treatment of all sorts of animals. 
Mocha abounds with dogs, which have no owners, 
and which live in a southern part of the town, 
where they are seen in packs, sleeping three-fourths 
of the day in small holes, which they dig them- 
selves. To me nothing can be so offensive and 
disgusting as these animals : many of them attain 
to a great age, and all without exception are devour- 
ed by the mange, destitute of hair, quarrelsome, 
and almost famished ; they bark, or set up a howl at 
every one who passes, and are objects of detestation 
to the inhabitants. They are not suffered to enter 
the town ; and they keep therefore in one situa- 
tion, where they multiply so fast, that, whatev- 
er havoc is made among them, their number 
seems never to diminish. The Bannians extend 
theii compassion to these detestable animals, and 
even take particular care of them : they bake little 
loaves of bread for food, which they carry to them 
almost every hour in the day : one or other of this 
W 2 



246 



VOYAGE IN THE 



tribe is seen continually passing with a little copper 
pot of water in one hand, and a loaf in the other, 
The dogs know them, and as soon as a Bannian is 
perceived they hasten to him in swarms : the most 
eager get a few bites of bread, and others a little 
water, while those who get nothing wait the arrival 
of another Bannian, who shortly appears and dis- 
penses in the same manner his water and loaf. Their 
dress is a white robe and rose-coloured turban ; 
the different tribes of animals know them so well^ 
that the pigeons are often extremely troub!esome ? 
and no bird ever flies away to avoid them. I have 
never seen a Bannian take any bird, though I have 
seen instances of their feeding them on the bushes ; 
though I have seen them scatter rice at their feet 9 
and the birds, wild to other men, flock round and 
tranquilly pick it up, like so many poultry in a 
farm-yard. In short, the most timid animals ap- 
proach them without the least apprehension ; and 
the most successful mode of hunting would certain- 
ly be in the disguise of a Bannian, were it possible 
so flagrantly to abuse the confidence which the ami- 
able manners of this cast have gained them. 

Their horror at every thing dead can hardly be 
described. One of them, named Ramji, came of- 
ten to my house at the time of my meals to give an 
account of some business or other he had transacted 
for me. When any of my people wished to play 
him a trick, they contrived that a little "broiled fish 
should fall as by accident upon his hand. The poor 
fellow upon this would cry out as in an agony, and 
run to wash himself with an eagerness and care 
that could be equalled only by the terror he felt at the 
circumstance. The flies in all hot countries are 
eager for drink, and- are very often drowned in the 
dishes and glasses. Ramji would willingly have 



INDIAN OCEAN, 



247 



spent a whole day in restoring one of these insects 
to life. A method was pointed out to him of put- 
ting them into salt to recover them ; and he was so 
overjoyed at the discovery, that he never came to 
me afterwards without a handkerchief full of salt, to 
save the lives of as many as he could. These marks 
of character, though trifling, may serve to depict 
the extraordinary good- nature and sweetness of 
manners of these people. 

Their disposition is frank and open ; a Banniau is 
ignorant of prevarication and falsehood. The 
whole commerce of the Europeans is entrusted to 
them, they alone being able to deal with the Arabs* 
What they receive for their trouble is extremely 
moderate, yet are their probity and honor proof 
against every temptation. The English factor here 
is extremely rich ; the French ones are by no means 
equally so, the government having occasioned them 
very considerable losses* Their commercial house 
was conducted in the names of Courji and Ramji, 
the first of whom bad rendered such services, both 
to the company and the French in general, that he 
received from the king in acknowledgment a gold 
medal of the weight of six ounces, with the royal 
portrait on one side, and a representation on the 
other, of the sun rising upon a distant country ; the 
legend on the portrait-side was, Louis X.VL king of 
France and Navarre, and on the other, chief of the 
French factors at Yemen ; and the exergue, I will 
extend my benefits to the end of the world. This 
medal, which was fastened to a gold chain, he wore 
round his neck, like the badge of an order, when- 
ever he appeared in his habits of ceremony. 

The Mussulmans have a season of solemnity and 
fasting similar to our Lent, which lasts through the 
whole month of Ramadan*, during which they are to 



248 



VOYAGE Iff THE 



eat nothing before sun set. This precept was evi- 
dently given to inculcate abstinence ; but they con- 
trive to elude, while they would be thought to ob- 
serve it, by obeying the letter and neglecting the 
spirit of the command : for they sleep all day, and 
spend the night in rejoicings and merriment. Du- 
ring this season not an individual is to be seen in the 
day-time ; but the sun has no sooner sunk below the 
horizon than the revelry begins. They traverse 
the streets singing, the houses are illuminated, the 
people assemble in large parties, and the whole 
town resembles a fair. I took the resolution while 
it lasted of retiring to my vessel for the sake of re- 
pose ; for the noise in the streets, as soon as the 
night set in, made it impossible for me to sleep. To 
crown my misfortune too, I lived next door to a 
rigid devotee, who, in perfoiming the duties of 
Ramadan, uttered the most frightful cries, roaring 
Alia with the voice of a stentor, and driving away 
slumber from every eye. His window was oppo- 
site to mice, and I could not help suspecting there 
was a little of the charlatan in his devotion ; at least, 
whenever I looked towards him, he threw himself 
upon the ground, and redoubled his cries to Alla 9 
with an extravagance, that could only be the effect 
either of gross hypocrisy or the extremest fanati- 
cism. As I could do no business, all the inhabit- 
ants being in bed, I lived on board my vessel, and 
did not come ashore till the last day, whe*ti the Ram- 
adan terminated by a procession. The governor in 
great state, on a horse covered with armour, carries 
the standard of Mahomet at the head of the cavalry* 
preceded by the foot soldier**, and followed by the 
people. He sets out from the principal mosque ? 
and goes round the town outside the ramparts, en- 
tering again the mosque, which is announced by a 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



249 



discharge of artillery. The Sayds walk after him, 
and every one displays on this occasion all the lux- 
ury that his fortune will admit, which gives to the 
procession an air of extraordinary grandeur and mag- 
nificence. 

The Arabs pay religious homage to their dead. 
The burying-places are a short distance from the 
town, where every one that dies has a tomb, 
more or less conspicuous, to denote where he is 
interred. These tombs are much frequented by the 
parents or friends of the deceased, who sit upon the 
ground, absorbed in grief, uttering groans, affecting 
despair, and making the most piteous bowlings. At 
first I respected their sorrow, and hastened to a dis- 
tance, whenever by accident I found myself near to 
thein. I observed, that their cries were loud while I 
was present, and that the moment I was gone these 
moarners were silent. I supposed, therefore, that 
their sufferings might be occasioned by the horror 
they felt at the appearance of a Christian ; but my 
factor soon set me at ease on that point, by telling 
me, that it was all aifectation ; that their mourn- 
ing in reality was an outward form, rather than a 
feeling of the heart ; which made me afterwards 
less scrupulous in my conduct. These tombs are 
not costly ; they are a heap of bricks put together, 
with no ornament, and most of them without an in- 
scription. 

The Arabs are strongly attached to their relig- 
ion, are intolerant to all other sects, and anxious to 
make proselytes. A Christian who embraces Ma- 
hometanism is sure to obtain their favor and pro- 
tection, but without enjoying any great share of re- 
spect. Many Europeans have settled among them. 
The sailor who deserted from me at Cucbiu had 
formerly been shipwrecked iu the neighborhood of 



250 



VOYAGE IK THE 



Mocha, where he was taken care of by the French 
consul there. During his stay in the town he had 
embraced the Mahometan faith, had cried Alia, and 
been circumcised. He had even married and set- 
tled himself: but taking advantage of the first ves- 
sel that arrived, he made his escape, abandoning bis 
bouse, bis wife, and Mahomet together. As soon 
as be learned at Cochin my intention of going into 
the Red Sea, the dread of being apprehended and 
impaled induced him to desert. I have mentioned 
how I regained him. Being thus, in spite of him- 
self, obliged to visit his old place of residence, he told 
me the whole of his story, and begged me to pro- 
tect him. This was easy enough ; nothing was 
necessary but to order the officers on duty never to 
send him ashore, nor to put him into any of the boats* 
that he might not be seen and recollected. Un- 
able however to keep his own secret, he told his 
companions, that he was prevented by the fear of 
punishment only from returning to bis wife, and 
that he bad never been more comfortable than when 
living among the Mussulmans. Curiosity, and still 
more the restless disposition of sailors, particularly 
those of the French nation, put it into the heads of 
my crew to be Mahometans also, since, as he had 
done, they could desert at last, if upon trial they dis- 
liked the change. The first who set the example 
was a stout Caffre, an excellent sailor, aa$ who spoke 
the Moorish tongue well. He waited at the door 
of the mosque till he saw the governor, when, cry- 
ing A //a, he was instantly seized, and the next 
day, being circumcised and clothed in the Arabian 
manner, he walked into Mocha my equal, and came 
to me in an insolent manner, demanding his wages. 
I told him that every sailor by deserting forfeited 
his claim to whatever was due to him, that this was 



INDIAN OCEASu 261 

the law of all vessels, and (hat I should therefore give 
him nothing. I also preferred a complaint against 
his conduct to the new governor, who was just ap- 
pointed instead of the one who had showed me so 
much kindness ; but all the satisfaction f couid ob- 
tain was to have this proselyte sent out of the way, 
that he might no more insult me in my own bouse, 
I desired the consul to inform the governor, that, 
as the sailor was not a Frenchman, I should take no 
further notice of the affair, but that I would not ad- 
vise him to take from me any more of my crew, as 
I should certainly find means of resenting it. A 
few days after, the son of the hydrographer of the 
Isle of France followed the example of my Cafifre ; 
he belonged to the crew of a small brig, the captain 
of sphich took no notice t)f the affair, though I did 
every thing in my power to rouse his resentment. 

It was not long; before I was informed that anoth- 
er of my sailors had been at the house of the gov- 
ernor to cry Alia, and, not seeing him, was going 
again the next day. I watched the moment of his 
return to my house, and, calling him before me, I 
reproached him with the wish to renounce his re- 
ligion and his country. I then insisted on his go- 
ing instantly on board, whither I was resolved to 
have him conducted ; and I ordered some cord to 
be brought to tie his hands behind him, that he 
might not escape. Upon this he made a gesture 
as if to force the door, but seeing me armed he de- 
sisted : resolved however to desert, he threw him- 
self out of the window. The room was on the sec- 
ond story, and there was at the height of the first 
what is called a pandal or shelter from the sun, made 
of a covering of mats, supported by poles. He 
thought, that by jumping upon this panda!, he might 
let himself fall from thence to the ground and so es* 



t " r 7 . - 

252 



VOTAGfi IN TM 



cape. He performed his first leap safely, but lie 

had the misfortune in the second to break his leg a 
little above the ankle. He Fell with such extra- 
ordinary violence, that the bone came through and 
stuck into the ground, stripping up the flesh from 
the fracture to the knee, When I came to the 
spot I was shocked at the sight. I immediately had 
him conveyed into a room, and we bound up his 
leg as well as we were able, for I bad lost my sur- 
geon : but, in spite of the care which was taken of 
him, a mortification ensued* and he died four days 
after. Shortly before his death he expressed a de- 
sire that I would Bee him : I did so ; and he con- 
fessed to me, that the reason of his wishing to leave 
me was, that he was a deserter, first from the regi- 
ment of Austrasia, and afterwards from that of the 
Isle of France ; that seeing me, as he supposed, 
about to take him to his corps, he hoped by running 
away, to escape being shot. He added, that he was 
sensible of his crime in consenting to change his re- 
ligion, and asked forgiveness of God, the king, and 
his captain. I was greatly affected at the fate of 
this poor fellow, and begged he would die in peace. 
I told him, that I forgave him with all my heart, 
and that if he had sooner confided to me his story, this 
cruel event would not have happened, for I would 
have exchanged him with an English vessel, and he 
would thus have been safe. In dying he had all 
the succours of religion, which were administered 
to him by a German, who was a missionary priest. 

This misfortune served to exasperate me still more 
against the government for encouraging desertions ; 
but it had not the effect of stopping the phrensy 
which seemed to have taken possession of my people. 
Scarcely had three days passed, when another of 
the crew went in search of the governor, to ask for 



INDIAN oeaAN. 



253 



a turban ; and, undergoing the same ceremony, was 
in like manner taken from me. I sent to reclaim 
birr, and received for answer, that reiigion would 
not permit a Mussulman to be delivered into the 
hands of a Christian. 

I immediately formed my resolution. I sent a- 
way my effects, with the proceeds of such part of 
my cargo as was sold. I sent my men also on 
board, retaining only my armed boat. 1 then told 
M. de Moncriff, that, if he thought he should be 
exposed to any danger from the Arabs by staying 
ashore, I would with pleasure take him with me, 
for that I waft about to give these people a lesson 
which they would probably for a long time remem- 
ber. To the captain of the French brig I gave the 
same intimation, and repaired to my ship. These 
preparations occupied me two days, and the gov- 
ernor supposed the affair to be at an end ; but he 
was mistaken. As soon as I was on board, I pre- 
pared for battle ; and, being ready, I sent a boat, 
well armed and commanded by an officer, to seize 
upon all the Arabs that should be found in the 
nearest daou. My party executed faithfully their 
commission, and brought me four men, of whom one 
was the captain. Of these, I put three in irons, 
and dispatched the other to the governor, to inform 
Lira, that if my sailor was not instantly given up, I 
would carry the three Mussulmans in my posses- 
sion to the Isle of France, where I would sell them 
as slaves : at the same time I bent my sails, and 
made every preparation for departing. The first 
step of the governor was to seize upon my Banni- 
ans ; but it appeared by their books, that all their 
accornpts with me were settled. His next step was 
to send for the French agent, who easily convinced 



*254 



VOYAGE IN THE 



him, that he had no concern in the matter, and no 
authority over me. The governor then threatened 
to sink my ship, but was to!d, that I was so well 
armed as to be able to silence the forts. Upon this 
lie wished to come to a parley, and an officer of the 
custom-house with my two Baimians were dispatch- 
ed for the purpose : I received their boat with an 
affectation of extraordinary precaution, pretending 
to be in a condition to batter the whole town. 

When the officer was on deck, I gave him no 
time for explanation, but coming directly to the 
point, asked him if he had brought with him my 
sailor. On his answering in the negative, I order- 
ed him to be arrested and confined in one of the 
cabins as a prisoner, while I sent back the Banni- 
ans, with an assurance, that 1 would listen to no 
terms till the deserter was restored to me. 

After waiting two hours, and receiving no intelli- 
gence, I hoisted the top-sails and heaved the an- 
chor apeak. I had scarcely been half an hour in 
this situation before my man arrived, looking asham- 
ed and ill, being not yet recovered from his opera* 
lion. He was accompanied by several Arabs, who 
entreated me with earnestness to pardon him, alleg- 
ing every thing in his favor which seal for their re- 
ligion could suggest. I immediately released my 
prisoners ; I also gave them some presents, which 
reconciled them to me, and, before thejr quitted the 
ship, I had the deserter tied to a gun, and five- arid- 
twenty strokes with a rope's end were bestowed up- 
on him. This lesson was of service to all : the 
sailors after this would not expose themselves to the 
risk of being delivered up if they were to desert* 
and the governor had no wish on his part for a sec^ 
one! contest with me of this nature. 

It was now sunset, and too late to go on shore 



INDIAN OCEAN* 



255 



that night ; but I went the next day, accompanied 
by one of my officers. We were both armed, but 
had no attendants, not wishing to appear in the least 
apprehensive of any danger. The emir habar 
told me, (hat he was extremely glad every thing 
was settled, and that he hoped nothing of the kind 
would happen again. 1 was immediately conducted 
to the house of the governor. He was not a Sayd, 
but a negro of a quiet and pacific disposition. He 
asked me, what I would say, if, now that I was in 
his power, he in his turn were -to make me a pris- 
oner ? I answered, that he owed it to his situation 
to consult justice and not power ; but should he so 
far forget the former as to oblige me to repe! force 
by force, his conduct might prove detrimental to the 
commerce of his country ; that, besides, I had a- 
vengers onboard my vessel, whom, in such case, I 
had instructed how to act. I added, that I would 
not suffer myself to be taken alive, and would en- 
deavor that he himself should be the first victim of 
the struggle ; and I produced a brace of pistols as 
I said this, to convince him I was on my guard. 
Whether lie had the magnanimity to feel himself 
above such an attempt, or whether he despised my 
youth and rashness, he smiled at what I said, and 
merely observed, that I ought, when out of my own 
country, to behave with more moderation ; assuring 
me at the same time, as to the affair in question, 
that I should hear no more of it. We parted in 
friendship, and the adventure was attended with no 
further consequences. 

The money of Mocha consists of small pieces of 
copper, plated or tinned, similar in form and color 
to the shilling of Holstein, and differing from it in 
nothing but the impression. They are called comas- 
sis or komaffi, pronouncing the k with a strong gut-" 



256 



TOWAGE IN THE 



tural accent. Sixty-four of these pieces are equal 
to a Spanish dollar The other coins most in use 
here are the crowns and piastres of Hungary : there 
are also a great number of gold pagodas and se- 
quins, 

I have spoken above of a German priest who was 
accidentally at Mocha. He was a missionary to 
Abyssinia, and had lived some time there in favor 
with the emperor. His fellow missionary, it seems* 
had been guilty of some knavery, fur which be was 
put to death ; while he had himself escaped wl fa 
the bastinado on the soles of his feet. I had after- 
wards reason to think, that his punishment was in- 
tended as a lesson of continence. Be that as it may, 
he had nearly died in consequence of it, and was a 
long time in regaining his health. As soon as he 
could travel, he asked permission to repair to Mo- 
cha, to complete his recovery by aid of the Euro- 
peans residing there. This was granted him by the 
emperor who was probably glad to get rid of him : 
and on his arrival at Mocha the consul admitted him 
into the French lodge. One day the whim seized 
him of applying himself to the study of < medicine, 
and he had the vanity in a short time to suppose him- 
self thoroughly skilled in every branch of the art of 
healing. He therefore procured drugs, and began 
to prescribe. He killed more than half his patients, 
while those who recovered extolled him as a miracle. 
The sick ran tahim in crowds, and he became rich* 
At the time of my arrival he was in the height of his 
practice. He had changed his religious dress for a 
Persian robe and turban. As I had no surgeon, 
he offered his services to me in that capacity, and 
began by killing my carpenter, whom by his skit 
* Bruce makes forty equal to a dollar, but he is mistaken § 
Nfcbuhr agrees with me, and estimates them at sixty .four. 



INDIAN OCEAN, 



257 



fnl treatment he dispatched in less than a week. I 
stopped him however in his career, by refusing to 
confide to him any more of my crew, and left him 
to exercise his talents on the Arabs, whom he con- 
tinued to poison. 

His mission to Abyssinia had almost totally fail- 
ed, and he was thinking of returning to Europe. He 
had acquired some knowledge both of the language 
and of the country, and he pretended, that it was 
perfectly easy to go from Cossire to the Nile, and 
thence down the river to Cairo. He frequently 
mentioned this plan to me, observing, that the es- 
sential point was to appear poor: that with this sin- 
gle precaution, and that of a Turkish dress, there 
was nothing to be feared, as such travellers who 
had seemingly nothing to lose were never attacked. 
He talked of this project so often, that I yielded to 
a desire of making a journey to Egypt, and visiting 
the pyramids. These are now indeed so well 
known, have been so accurately described by Sa- 
vary and others, and there are such models of them 
in the Museum of Natural History, belonging to the 
botanic garden at Paris, that they are as little spo* 
ken of as Pont Neuf, or any other monument which 
is continually before our eyes. Yet was my curi- 
osity strongly excited. I was desirous myself to 
examine these astonishing remains of antiquity, to 
compare them with the descriptions which had been 
given, to penetrate into their interior, and inspect 
them on all sides with the most scrupulous atten- 
tion, f therefore listened to the project of the mis- 
sionary, and we made the necessary arrangements 
for the excursion. I began by converting my mo- 
ney into bills of exchange upon Cairo, which were 
furnished me by my Banmans. I determined that 
my four best sailors should accompany me, and I 



253 



voyagb m fill 



undertook the care of them as far as Italy* pfomk 
ing them on their arrival there a reward proportion* 
ed to the satisfaction I should derive from their ser- 
vices. I equipped both them and myself in a Per- 
sian habit, and armed each of them with a brace of 
pistols, a sabre and a musket. I took myself such 
arms as I thought necessary, and the missionary 
did the same. 1 bargained for a daou to carry me 
to Cossire, the price of which was to be two hun- 
dred piastres. We agreed with the owners of the 
boat, to proceed in a direct line, by the help of my 
sailors, and not to coast it, as is usual in that coun- 
try, by which means we should be able to perform 
the voyage at most in five or six days. The daou 
was brought along side my vessel, and I furnished 
it with lead-lines, compasses, a chart, a good teles- 
cope, and a quadrant. This done, I was on the 
point of setting out, when the French marine agent 
signified to me, that he could not suffer me to ex- 
pose myself thus with an adventurer, who was en- 
gaged, for aught he knew, with a baud of robbers* 
who might plunder me and my men, and share with 
him the booty. He added, that the king's subjects 
(the republic did not then exist), whom I was about 
to take with me, might be of service to his majesty; 
that I ought not, besides, but in a case of the great- 
est necessity, to qi^t the command with which I was 
entrusted ; and thsft, in short, in his quality of ma- 
rine agent, he shduld oppose my projefcu As he 
hc d over me no authority in such matters, I paid 
little regard to his opposition, but he contrived to 
render it effectual, by procuring the interference of 
the governor, to whom he represented me as a mad* 
man, about to plunge headlong into adventures, 
which would be attended with the most disastrous 
cfonsequences? as well to myself and my compan* 



IffDIAN OCEAN* 



259 



ions, as to all those who should have any thing to 
do with us ; that the obstinacy of my temper had 
been apparent in the affair of the apostate sailor, on 
whose restitution I had so peremptorily insisted ; 
and he concluded by entreating him to prevent my 
departure. The governor sent for me to his house, 
and after endeavoring in vain, by every means ia 
his power, to dissuade me from my undertaking, he 
laid an injunction on the boats of the country, not to 
engage with me for that or any other passage what' 
ever. At the same time, believing me rash enough 
to undertake it in my own beat, in spite of the dan- 
gers of the voyage, he informed me, that if I did so, 
he would take measures to make me, when I arri- 
ved at Cossire, repent of my folly. 1 wast hus un- 
der the necessity ef relinquishing a plan, to which I 
was the more attached from having long entertained 
the idea of it, and which I abandoned at last with 
the utmost reluctance. Thus ended my scheme, 
which I now fear I shall never find an opportunity 
of executing. I returned my bills of exchange for 
Cairo, and resumed the usual course of my busi- 
ness. 

The government of Mocha having formerly given 
cause of complaint to the French company, the lat- 
ter sent out a force to revenge this conduct. A bo- 
dy of about five hundred men were landed upon a 
small island of sand which forms the southern boun- 
dary of the road, who look possession of the fort. 
The ships which brought them anchored before the 
town and prepared to canonade it The Arab 
cavalry made a sortie on the French ; but the latter 
bad taken the precaution of planting some chemax- 
de/rise : and the Arabs, astonished at a contriv- 
ance so new to them, were thrown into confusion 
and routed completely. Their Joss was so great, 



260 



VOYAGE IN THE 



that the place surrendered. A treaty of ccmimerce 
was coscluded, to which the Arabs, strict observers 
of their word, have faithfully adhered. It was pro- 
vided in this tvediiy 9 that the French should enjoy 
a free trade in Yemen, paying however the imposts 
and duties which the sovereign 6xed at that time, 
and which have not been altered. They were also 
to have the right of riding on horseback in the 
town, and the exclusive privilege of passing the 
house of the governor without being obliged to dis- 
mount. This concession appeared to the Arabs to be 
a point of the utmost moment, and it was not admit- 
ted till after the warmest debates, while they agreed 
without difficulty to an article of genuine importance, 
whice permitted the French to use their own 
weights and measures in commercial transactions, 
disregarding those of the country. They were al- 
so allowed to establish a lodge or factory in Mocha, 
and another in Bethelfakib, with the privilege of 
hoisting their flag in those places : and it was further 
agreed, that both at Bethelfakih and at Mocha the 
French articles of merchandize should be exempted 
from being carried to the custom house, and should 
be deposited at once in the warehouses of the lodge, 
where an officer of the Arabs might inspect them. 
This treaty, so highly advantageous to the French, 
has to this day been punctually observed. The 
good faith for which the Arabs are remarkable has 
prevented them in the slightest degree*from infrin- 
ging it : but it has served to augment their hatred to 
the Christians* As many of the cavalry by whom 
our troops were attacked were killed, the surviving 
relatives cherished in consequence a resentment, 
and have been successful in raising among the peo- 
ple the strongest aversion to the French*. I have 

* One .of the French Captains was assassinated by the rela< 
^ons of an Arab who died in that engagement, 



INDIAN OCEAN, 



261 



myself experienced its effects, and been often expo- 
sed to persoual insults. Sometimes a number of A- 
rabs attacked me with stones, and at others, bodies 
of Abyssinians with sticks. One day in particular, 
assisted by one of my officers, I maintained with five 
of the latter a most ludicrous battle. We had made 
ourselves, I and my officer, each a large whip, for 
the purpose of driving away the dogs, which follow- 
ed us in crowds whenever we parsed near their 
haunts. We were armed with these whips when 
some Abyssinians insuited us, and, to defend our- 
selves, were forced to make use of them. These 
weapons were new to our adversaries, and the noise 
of their cracking, and two or three strokes skilfully 
applied, sent them off howling like so many demon- 
iac >. This adventure obliged me once more to 
have recourse to the governor, who, under pretence 
of protecting me, gave me one of his men, with a 
bandoleer, ordering him to accompany me every 
where, and see that I was respected. I was not so 
stupid as to be the dupe of this compliment* I 
knew that the soldier was a spy upon me, and was 
to report all my proceedings ; but as there was no- 
thing which I had the least interest to conceal, I 
was indifferent upon the subject. I had reason 
however to rejoice at the circumstance, for his pres- 
ence often protected me from insults, which I must 
otherwise have endirred- 

. Mocha is situated on a plain, reaching from the 
coa?t to the foot of the mountains, which is an ex- 
tent of four leagues. The soil consists of sand, 
mixed with coarse gravel and small stones, which 
are chiefly fragments of granite. On the whole 
plain we find but a few wretched plants of cassia, 
the leaves and berries of which, as soon as they be- 
gin to spring, are devoured by the camels ; these 



262 



VOYAGE IN THE 



plants excepted, the plain is as destitute of vegeta- 
tion as the saads of the sea shore. 

Travelling over this plain is very disagreeable 
both to men and cattle, as it affordo no shelter a- 
gainst the heat of the sun, which is burning* 
Wells have been dug here by the Arabs, as water- 
ing places ; and near to each of these spots is a 
small house inhabited by people who keep the wells 
in repair, and famish travellers with water at the 
moderate price of a kormassi These wells, with 
the camels, the asses, and the dress of the inhabit- 
ants, reminds me of scenes described in certain pas- 1 
sages in the Bibie, which they very much resem- 
bled. 

The water in this plain is so bad as to be hardly 

fit to drink* As the ground lies low, the sea still 
filtrates through the whole extent of the plain, so 
that wherever we dig we are sore to find water at 
no great depth ; but it is all go brackish, that by 
putting it into a hole two feet deep salt may easily 
be extracted from it. -At first the water will sink 
into the sand; but, if properly supplied the sand 
will man be saturated, and the rest of- the process 
will be effected without trouble. The saline parti- 
cles contained in iiie sandy earth, of which this soil 
is composed, being separated by the water, unite 
and sink to the bottom of tBe pit, where they are 
soon calcined by the sun. 

There is no good water in the town ; all that is 
used is fetched from a large well at the distance 
nearly of half a league, where there is a considerable 
watering place, constructed for the cavalry : horses, 
moles, asses, every morning and evening, come to 
this place to drink. The inhabitants are obliged to 
partake of this water, which is brought in leathern 
bottles to the town on the backs either of men or as- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



263 



ses. It is bad enough even when the bottles are 
old and seasoned, but when they are new it i3 per- 
fectly detestable. It is unwholesome too, and fre- 
quently occasions inflammation in the bowels, a dis- 
order which in hot climates is mortal. In proportion 
to the distance from the sea, the water is less brack- 
ish, and in the mountains it is excellent. 

Towards the south of the town, nature has left a 
strip of vegetative earth, about half a league broad, 
and from three to four leagues long. It is covered 
with date-trees, among which some gardens are for- 
med, and pleasure-houses erected, if we may call 
by this name huts of straw, and paltry buildings co- 
vered with palm leaves. They however answer 
the purpose for which they were intended, afford- 
ing a shelter from the injuries of the weather, and 
permitting the owners to enjoy the cool air, and 
smoke their hooka. 

On this spot was the garden of the Sayd, Moham- 
ed Abdala, the ex> governor, who had treated me 
with so much kindness, and I often visited him there 
after he was deprived of his office. The iman 3 
when he degraded him, laid him under a very heavy 
contribution for the soldiers, who took possession of 
his hou^e, and loaded with insults the very man 
whom two days before they had implicitly obeyed. 
His friends assisted him in his distress, and he dis- 
charged the demands that were made upon him at 
the expense of nearly his whole fortune. After this 
event, he retired wholly to his garden, where he 
parsed his days lolling on cushions or in the bath, 
smoking or asleep under some shade, sunk in the 
most complete apathy. My visits always gave him 
pleasure ; I smoked familiarly the hooka with him, 
and we often fell asleep together, reclining on our 
separate pile of cushions. When I awoke an ex- 



264 



TOY AGE IN THE 



cellent pilaw was sure to be set before me, of which 
he in no instance partook, as he wouid never eat in 
my presence. He detained me as long as he wag 
able, never suffering me to go till I had merely time, 
by 'trotting my ass fast, to get to the town before 
the gates were shut. There was a door indeed 
left open for passengers nearly the whole night, but 
it was so extremely low, that it was necessary to 
creep upon the ground to get through* which obli- 
ged me always to return a little after sun-set 

This large plantation of date- trees is the only spot 
of ground that is cultivated in the neighborhood of 
Mocha. The Arabs take great care of it, water it 
regularly, match the different sexes of the plants, 
and gather vast quantities of dates, exporting what 
they do not consume. This is the only specie* of 
palm which I observed in Arabia : they have, how- 
ever, the vaquois, though I did not see any ; nor 
did I see any cocoa-trees. 

It is with great impropriety that the name of 
Mocha is given to a particular kind of coffee, as 
there is not a plant of this sort growing in the 
neighborhood of the town ; it owes its appellation 
solely to the circumstance of being shipped at that 
port. There is in Arabia a tree called marshy and 
another called oschar, of which the wood has the 
same quality as that denominated in our colonies 
roundwood— of readily catching fire bj friction. 

When we have cleared the plain on which the 
town is situated, we arrive at the mountains, where 
Is the village of Moza or Muza. The appearance 
of the country is here totally different. The vil- 
lage is in a pleasant valley, and is surrounded with 
a perpetual verdure. The mountains shelter it 
from the tempestuous winds to which the town is 
exposed, and the air is perfumed with the fragrance 



ltfWAtf OCBABT. 



265 



both of flowers and fruits. The inhabitants enjoy 
a cool shade under the palm, peach, badamier, and 
other trees with which the mountains abound. 
The water is excellent, and I used to have it brought 
from this place every day for my use : in short, 
Moza is sufficient of itself to obtain for the province 
of Yemen the appellation of Arabia Felix. 

This country does not possess a single carriage of 
any description whatever : the use of wheels is un- 
known : every thing is carried on the backs of men, 
mules, asses, or camels. This last animal is a na- 
tive of Arabia, and will neither thrive nor propa- 
gate any where else : none of those which are in 
India breed there, or at least the instances are rare. 
It is the most valuable of ail the animals in this 
province, and is in every respect adapted by nature 
to live in deserts, as it is singularly temperate. Its 
reserve of water by which it can live for several 
days without drinking, is well known, It is known 
too to be of the species of ruminating animals ; but 
how long it will endure hunger, without perishing, 
has perhaps never been ascertained. I had one on 
board my vessel, which did not drink during the 
whole passage from Socotara to Pondicherry, which 
was seventeen days ; nor did it eat in that time 
more than twenty pounds of millet straw. After 
the fourth day it seemed to ruminate but little, about 
a quarter of an hour a day, as nearly as I could ob- 
serve. As soon as it was landed, it ran to a spring 
and drank plentifully ; and it appeared in as good 
condition as if it had suffered no want. Though its 
thirst was great, its desire pf food was by no means 
so. It still ate moderately, and with no more eager- 
ness than usual. The camel is extremely indolent, 
unless harsh means are taken with it. It will pfj en 
lie down upon its belly, and would continue for 



266 



VOYAGE IN THE 



days together in this posture without rising even to 
eat, till almost famished. A. rope of twistf d straw 
is put into their mouths to raise them from the 
ground. It is remarkable, that, living as it does 
entirely on vegetable food, the breath of this animal 
should stink ; but from a putrid odour contracted in 
the stomach, it is so very offensive as to be almost 
intolerable.^ 

Another singularity of this animal is its aversion 
to all sorts of dirt, which is so great that it cannot be 
made to travel a muddy road unless driven by blows. 
Its foot is soft and sure ; it never makes a false step, 
and never slips. It is said, that camels are unable 
to run, and that dromedaries therefore are obliged 
to be employed in journeys that require expedition. 
On the contrary, I can affirm with truth, that they 
are extremely nimble in their paces. I have rode 
many of them : their trot is extremely rough but 
quick ; they are indeed not easily made to gallop, 
but when they do, it is with a swiftness exceeding 
the best race-horse in England. They move with 
such vigor, that the rider could not keep his seat, 
but for a long wooden pin, that goes through the 
bow of the saddle and passes over his thighs, to pre- 
vent him from being jolted ; without this contriv- 
ance he must inevitably fall the first instant of a gal- 
lop. The camel lies down on his belly to be loaded, 
and gets voluntarily up again when it finds itself 
burdened too heavily, or beyond the usual ^weight. 
In the same manner it lies down to be mounted, 
and does not get up till it is told. The rider must 
be careful when it rises to keep a firm hold, for the 
motion is violent, and seldom fails to dismount those 

* It is the same in almost all desert countries, where cattle 
have nothing but plants of an alkaline or saline nature to live 
tipon. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



26; 



who are not accustomed to it. A camel carries In 
general two bales of coffee, weighing six hundred 
and twenty-six pounds ; with the pack-saddle and 
furniture the weight is full seven hundred : this is 
the extent of its burden, and is never exceeded. The 
camel is led by means of a ring put through its 
nostril;?, or one of its upper lips.* This method 
alone, however, is not sufficient ; for the camel is 
so stubborn in its temper that blows must be added 
to render it tractable. 

Arabia is the country for asses, of which there 
are two sorts ; one common, like those ia Europe, 
arul another more scarce. The latter are of the 
" size of a large horse, and are very strong and swift : 
they are much used for riding, and are employed by 
the Ar^bs in the cavalry, and indeed on all occa- 
sions except those of ceremony. One ©f these asses 
with his ears and tail cut, has the appearance of a 
handsome rat-ta^ed horse : when crossed with Arabi- 
an mares they breed toe finest and largest mules in 
the world. They surpass the horse in strength, ^nd 
are monstrous as to size : the iman never sells them 
for less than a thousand piastres a-head, a price 
greater than that of horses, which are scarcely ever 
valued at more than eight hundred. 

The Arabs are extremely cutious in antelopes, 
and have a very handsome sort which they rear in 
their houses. They become domestic, and are rood- 
els of agility and gratefulness. They are so famil- 
iar as to be troublesome. They leap in general by 
three springs, of which the second is the longest, 
and all their feet rise and come to the ground to- 
gether. They are in height from thirteen to fifteen 
inches, and can leap six or seven feet. Their coat 
is grey, with a silver belly ; and their horns, which 

$ The upper lip of the camel is divided, so tKat it has twa. 



268 



VOYAGE IN <FHE 



are strait, are of a shining black, and never longer 
than two inches. These animals also are remarka- 
ble for their temperateness ; a quality which the 
penuriousness of the climate certainly renders ne- 
cessary, but which they do not lose when removed 
elsewhere : it is incredible on how little nourish- 
ment they will subsist, and preserve themselves in 
good condition. 

I mentioned above, that the Arabs have arrived 
at no great skill in the arts. Their religion, which 
forbids the use of images, deprives them both of 
painting and sculpture. Their architecture is rude 
and seems to be formed on no regular system. 
Our five orders are unknown to them. Their prin- 
cipal buildings have a considerable resemblance to 
the Gothic style ; at least the arches of the great 
mosque at Mocha are Gothic ; those of the roof 
ogee, and supported by pillars which appeared to be 
of the same order. 

The mode of constructing their houses consists in 
raising four brick walls with no plan, no design, 
and no taste. In placing the windows not the 
smallest attention is paid to symmetry, and the walls 
are crowded on the inside with little niches, which 
at first sight a catholic would suppose were intend- 
ed to contain images of saints, but which are made 
to hold the lights at night, or else to stow away 
goods* Their mortar is made of shells and coral, 
but it costs them dear, as the coral is Brought from 
a great distance. The roots of their houses are 
made in the argamasse manner, and are terminated 
by littie triangular steps, close to each other. 

The .navigation of the Arabs is confined to a tim- 
id coasting along the shore. Their music is so bar- 
barous as to be even a thousand times worse than 
that of the savages of Africa. We have seen what 



INDIAN OCEAN. 269 

is their knowledge of medicine, in the instance of 
the missionary 1 have mentioned ; and the testimo- 
ny of Savary , Bruce, Niebuhr, and Volney, confirms 
my assertions. 

They are altogether ignorant of mechanics, and 
have no wheel carriage of any kind ; every thing is 
done by the mere strength of the arms ; even a cart 
is not known among them. Their plough is a 
wretched instrument without wheels, the share of 
which works nearly like ours, but the toil is great 
both for the cattle and men. The cultivation of the 
land in almost all its branches is a business of bod- 
ily labor. By means of a plank, with a rope fast- 
ened at each end, they heap up the earth, and make 
little banks of it, to retain the water, as in the fields 
prepared for rice ; they then break up the ground 
either with their ploughs or with pick-axes, the 
sower following close to the laborer, and scatter- 
ing the seed, which the latter, as he returns, treads 
in with his feet. In spite of so imperfect a meth- 
od they have excellent crops. The wheat in the 
worst soil yields ten for one, in the ordinary twen- 
ty-five or thirty, and in the best, in some places, 
fifty, particularly among the mountains. The mil- 
let is still more productive, and affords even a hun- 
dred and fifty for one ; a proportion that is almost 
incredible. 

While many arts are wholly unknown in this 
country others are in their infancy. But with lit- 
erature $nd the sciences it is different. The excel- 
lence of their. poetry is well known; and as for the 
sciences, the Arabs are as well skilled in geometry 
and astronomy as it is possible to be without the 
aid of instruments, or with the imperfect ones they 
possess. Their genius is particularly adapted to 
numerical operations : thev are good arithmeticians 
Y 2 



670 VOYAGE IN TM 

and play well at chess. This game drew many of 
them to my house, of whom one in particular was 
so expert that he beat us all, and for that reason was 
called sap-mate, and at last known by no other ap- 
pellation : his friends grew so accustomed to it, and 
used it so constantly, that it remained with him. 
!Sap is a Moorish word of distinction, answering to 
sir : to express respect to a woman, they say bibi- 
sap. 

Horned cattle are so scarce in Arabia that there 
are very few killed ; and as a want of the flesh of 
these animals often prevails at Mocha, camel's flesh 
is substituted in its stead, which the butchers sell 
in the shambles Bke beef. This meat is agreeable 
and nourishing, but rather resembles veal than beef. 
The soup made of it is excellent ; J was so extreme- 
ly fond of it, that I never complained when my 
landlord apologized for being able to procure me no 
other. 

Fish is the principal dish in places near the shore ; 
it is in general plentiful and good, and of the same 
kind as ours ; there are no fish nor any birds, of 
pas-sage. I saw neither storks nor swallows. Storks 
however were seen by Niebuhr at Mosul. There 
are quails, but they are stationary. The samargog 
or locust-eater is found here : I met myself with 
none of these birds ; but, from the description 
which was given me, I suppose them to, be of the 
species of blackbird, known in the Isle of France by 
the name of martin. 

The fruit-market here is perhaps the most extra- 
ordinary in the world. Nature has done every 
thing for this country ; and when we consider the 
numberless advantages she has bestowed upon it, 
the strength, the talents, and courage of its inhabit- 
ants, it is difficult to account for their not having 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



271 



become the greatest cation on earth ; unless we sup- 
pose, that, possessing in themselves every thing to be 
wished for, they have never attempted the conquest 
of countries that offered no attractions, and did not 
enjoy hatf the advantages with which their own 
country abounded. Arabia produces every thing. 
I have seen the market-place filled with apples and 
oranges, plums and citrons, apricots and pines, 
peaches and bananas, bretts and artichokes, grapes 
and mangoes ; in short, with all the fruits and veg- 
etables of Europe and Asia : but the heat is so ex- 
cessive, that annual fruit3 ripen too quickly, have lit- 
tle juice* and decay in a fortnight : those of the ev- 
ergreen-trees, on the contrary, succeed well ; and 
the fruits of Asia are accordingly in this part of the 
world much superior to those of Europe. 

Their religion prohibiting the use of fermented 
liquors, the Arabs make no wine 3 nor even extract 
any liquor from the date, which would supply it, 
as well as the cocoa nut ; but they dry a great 
quantity of grapes, from which a drink peculiar to 
the country is made, and which is tolerably pleasant. 
For want of other wine I was obliged to make use 
of it. It is produced thus : — thirty pounds of dri- 
ed raisins are put into a hogshead of water, and left 
for three days to ferment, when the liquor is racked 
off and put into bottles. It very much resembles 
champagne. The Arabs partake of it in spite of the 
koran, every one having an opportunity of making 
it privately in his own house, and I was often asked 
in secret to drink with them. Their fondness for 
brandy also is but little checked by the prohibitory 
commandment, the great resort of foreigners to 
Mocha rendering them less scrupulous there in 
points of religion. They often indulge their inclin- 
ation ; and though they do not suppose Mahomet 



272 



VOTAGE IN THE 



to be blind, will drink it with delight, when they 
are certain of not being observed by their country- 
men. It was perhaps to their love of strong liquors 
more than to any thing else, that I was indebted for 
my acquaintance with many of the most distinguish- 
ed persons in the cavalry, who visited me with the 
hope of secretly indulging their passion. The Jews 
make some arrack from rice, but it is so badly dis- 
tilled, that none but negroes or sailors can drink it. 
The Arabs, independently of the dictates of religion, 
wholly abstain from it ; so that the consumption of 
this liquor is extremely moderate. 

Millet is the grain which is cultivated by prefer- 
ence in the province of Yemen, where there is little 
barley and still less wheat. The millet grows amaz- 
ingly strong ; the ear, which is seldom less than five 
inches long, and an inch thick, is abundantly load- 
ed, yielding, as I observed before, in the proportion 
of a hundred and fifty for one ; the stalks altogeth- 
er are sometimes from five to six feet high. The 
straw is very valuable, serving as food for the asses 
and camels. As there is no hay for the horses, 
the tenderest end of the millet stalks, with the grain 
in the ear, is given them : this serves also, with a 
small portion of barley or beans, instead of oats. 

The Arabs make little or no bread ; but consume, 
like the Indians, a great quantity of rice. Their 
usual delicacy is the pilaw. This is tr&de by put- 
ting a fowl into an earthern pan, with about three 
pounds of rice, and just enough water to keep it 
from burning; the whole is left to stew for six-and 
thirty hours, a quantity of spice, such as cardamoms, 
cloves and nutmegs, being added : the gravy of the 
fowl moistens the rice, and makes it delicious. The 
smell of a good pilaw, if uncovered on the fire, 
would scent a whole house. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



273 



The interior part of the country so abounds with 
rose-trees, that a vast quantity both of rose-water 
and oil of roses is made, and is exported to every 
part of the globe. The Arabs are very fond of this 
perfume, and use a great deal of it. The oil in 
particular is so strong, that a single drop poared in- 
to a chest will give it a scent which nothing can 
overcome : a box als^ in which a bottle of this per- 
fume has been kept, will retain the smell as long as 
a fragment of it remains ; and if the hand by acci- 
dent or otherwise should touch it, a perspiration of 
three days' continuance will scarcely suffice to take 
off the odour. 

A great deal of salt is made on the shore of the 
sea : but the Arabs do not, as is done in Europe, 
divide a plain covered with water into compart- 
ments. They make a number of uniform boleff 
about four and sometimes five feet wide, and two 
feet deep, which they fill with sea-water till the 
ground is soaked, so as to absorb no more. A red 
crust then forms itself on the surface : the water, 
which is also red, is afterwards drained off, and the 
sediment exposed to the sun, which gives it a beau- 
tiful whiteness. The salt of Mocha is the finest I 
have any where seen. 

The lovers of shell-work would find ample room 
for gratifying their taste on the shores of Arabia, 
where, as to these objects, curiosity has not yet 
roamed, and where there are shells therefore in 
abundance. The most common are the olive, the 
pilgrim, and Bernard the hermit. There are some 
in high preservation both as to form and polish. 

The principal object of cultivation in Yemen is 
coffee. This tree is too well known to require a 
description. It is a native of Arabia, and though 
it has thriven surprisingly in the Antilles, at Cay- 



274 



VOYAGE IN THIS 



enne, and in the Isle of Bourbon, if has preserved 
in its original country a superiority that gives it a 
preference in all the markets of Europe. The fruit, 
when stripped of its skin, is commonly - small and 
round : it is of a green colour, and has a strong 
scent. There is another sort growing' in the neigh- 
borhood of Ouden, that is black and full of small 
shirting particles like cloves. This has, a strong as 
well as greasy taste, and the infusion made from it 
is extremely oily. So powerful indeed is its odour, 
and so sharp is its taste, that it connot be used by it- 
self ; hut when mixed -with the oilier, it is very 
agreeable* The usual proportion is one pound to 
six : it is thus that the company 's agent mixes it. 

The coffee is ali carried to Betheirakih, a small 
town about five-and-twenty leagues north- west of 
Mocha, where "the general market is held. The 
French have a lodge there, and are allowed to use 
the standard weights of Fraac'% The annual peri- 
od for the market is the beginning of May, that the 
vessels, which load at Mocha, may begin their voy- 
age early- in Jure, when the monsoon changes. 
The coffee intended to be shipped is conveyed to 
Mocha on camels. The exportation seldom amounts 
to four thousand bales a year, except when the Eng- 
lish and French companies have made expeditions- 
there ; but these occasions happening seldom, the 
exportation may be taken at an average 'of from three 
thousand five hundred to four thousand bales* A 
bale weighs three hundred and thirteen pounds, of 
which the thirteen pounds are allowed for the pack- 
ing. The common market-price of a bale is forty- 
two Spanish piastres, the duties at Bethelfakih and 
Mocha, with the expense of carriage to the latter 
place included ; which is at the rate of about four- 
teen pence halfpenny per pound. By this calcula- 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



275 



lion the trade of Mocha will amount, in the article 
of coffee, to twelve hundred thousand weight, pro- 
duciiig a sum Of a hundred and sixty-eight thou- 
sand piastres. As the Arabshave recourse to for- 
eign countries for many articles of necessity, the bal- 
ance of trade would be very much against them, if 
their receipts were confined to a small sum ; but 
the exports from Mocha are of so little importance 
to them as hardly to draw the attention of the gov- 
ernment. The Persians flock to the market of Bfth* 
elfakih, and form there the caravan of Bassdra. The 
coffee, which is distributed through Natolia, Turkey 
in Europe, and part of Russia, goes by the way of 
Smyrna, and joins the caravan of that name, while 
that which is intended for the coast of Barbary, and 
for Africa in general, joins the caravan of Cairo. 
These three caravans are the principal support of 
the market of Bethelfakih. The purchases are all 
made in money, which introduces annually into the 
province of Yemen a sum greater than it expends 
in such articles of consumption as it is obliged to 
import. 

Besides coffee, Arabia supplies other nations with 
great quantities of fruits, such as pears, apples, rai- 
sins, figs, peaches, and dried dates, as well as with 
cassia, cardamoms, and assa-fcztida^ which are all 
productions of its own soil, but of which the value 
may be considered as trifling in the balance of trade. 
Its markets furnish likewise incense, benzoin, aloes, 
and gum. These last articles, however, are not of 
its own growth, though the principal market is there, 
for Arabia itself produces but a very small quantity 
of them. The aloes come from Socotary, which 
furnishes the best that are known. This commod- 
ity is not confined to any particular mraket, but may 



276 



VOYA0E IJf THfi 



be had equally at Mocha, Muscat, Jeddo, and the 
other towns of Arabia. 

Yemen has its gum chiefly from Abyssinia, for it 
does not produce itself the twentieth part of what is 
sold in its markets. It is therefore by no means 
proper to say Mocha coffee, and gum-arabic. The 
gum-tree of Arabia is a little, short, stunted plant, 
and the drops of gum which it yields are small and 
yellowish. The Abyssinian gum-tree, on the con- 
trary, is large and flourishing, and produces drops 
in abundance, as large as a pigeon's egg, and as 
transparent as crystal. The market of Mocha and 
the places near it scarcely furnish three hundred 
bales of this article annually. As for the incense 
and benzoin, they form together but an inconsider- 
able branch of commerce. The Arabs consume in- 
deed great quantities of them, but they are chiefly 
supplied by the Abyssinians ; and I think it a just 
calculation to estimate the profit upon what they sell 
to strangers, as only equivalent to the sum they pay 
for what they get from Abyssinia ; so that the state 
derives from these articles no advantage. 

The sums which this province receives for the 
productions I have mentioned serve to pay for the 
rice which it obtains from India, the sugar from dif- 
ferent places, the sugar-candy from Bengal in par- 
ticular, the iron and cannon from Europe, the cloths 
and wrought gold by the ports of the? Levant, the 
pepper and different species from the coast of Mala- 
bar, the cotton manufactures of every kind from In- 
dia, silks from Surat, and porcelain and other arti- 
cles from China. 

Though the wants of this country are so extensive, 
the balance of trade is still in its favor. This will 
be evident if we consider, that all the business is done 
by ready money ; for though the country possesses 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



277 



no coin of its own, except a small kind called kom- 
assi, of which I have spoken, and which cannot be 
exported oa account of its trivial value, yet it a- 
bounds with foreign money of every sort, and par- 
ticularly European, such as the crown-pieces and 
sequins of Hungary, which serve for all commercial 
transactions however considerable. The komassis 
are used only in inferior concerns, that the coins I 
have mentioned may remain in circulation in Ara- 
bia. The amount of its sales therefore must neces- 
sarily exceed that of its purchases, for the latter 
would otherwise leave no residue of foreign money : 
and Arabia must undoubtedly be considered as a rich 
country, since its productions exceed its wants. 

The manners of the Arabs are mild. The cus- 
tom of living alone in their seraglios, and conse- 
quently of having but little intercourse with each 
other, their plurality of wives, by which they are 
enabled to gratify a propensity which the climate 
creates, and the state of subjection, or rather slave- 
ry in which the sex is held, are circumstances unfa- 
vorable to licentiousness : while, at the same time, 
the precept enjoining abstinence from strong liquors 
being strictly observed, except in those places where 
the luxury introduced by commerce leads to a neg- 
lect of the most important duties, their ignorance of 
all games of chance, and above all their enthusiasm 
for their religion, and the despotic influence which 
its ministers possess, contribute to preserve the pu- 
rity of their morals. The contempt also whichihey 
entertain for foreigners prevents their inviting them 
to their houses, or having any communication with 
them. An Arab knows nobody but his family : he 
faithfully observes the laws of the krran, and the 
employment of every hour of the day is determined 
by a precept. The duties of devotion, ablutions* 



278 



TOY AGE IN THE 



and the concern^ of his house, uniformly occupy his 
time, and his life passes away in a regularity that 
preserves his manners from corruption. The chil- 
dren, brought up under the eye of their father, and 
perverted by no intercourse with strangers, adopt 
the same system of conduct, and seldom or never 
depart from it. 

The government is avaricious, but the people in- 
dividually are not so. This fatal passion, which 
every w here else is the parent of so many vices, has 
not yet found access with the Arabs. The heat of 
the climate renders their wants few in the article of 
clothing, and their habitual temperance prescribes 
the same moderation in their living. In peaceful in- 
dolence in the midst of his mountains, the Arab has 
nothing to wish for : he is happy in the benefits 
which nature has bestowed upon him, and does not 
sigh for those of which he is ignorant, and which 
foreigners can never make known to him in his sol- 
itude. His highest pleasure is to have nothing to 
do. To sleep in a cool situation, to throw himself 
upon piles of cushions, to imbibe the free air, smoke 
his hooka, bathe frequently, as well from devotion 
as inclination, and enjoy the society of hm women, 
constitute the summit of his felicity, and of any a- 
bove this he has no conception. At the same time 
that these enjoyments satisfy him, he kjiows how to 
value them, and admits in his pleasures of no part- 
ner : hence that jealousy which forms so principal 
a part of h?s character. 

If any thing could introduce a relaxation of man- 
ners among the Arabs, it would be their mode of 
living with their women : the burning heat of the 
climate, affecting their external senses, acts as a per- 
petual stimulous to their desires, to which they give 
themselves up with the less reserve from possessing 



INDIAN OCEAN, 



279 



so amply the means of satisfying tbem. It was with 
the view probably of moderating the violence of these 
feelings, that frequent bathings were prescribed by 
their religion ; but, instead of producing that effect 
nothing so much tends to augment them, as the a- 
buse which is made of this practice. The places 
provided for the purpose are in general from five- 
and-twenty to thirty feet square, and about three 
feet and a half in depth, with little steps at the cor- 
ners to go down. The bottom is sand, or gravel 
beaten firm, and is always smooth. The master of 
the family and bis women all bathe there together. 
Over every thing in this picture that may be deem- 
ed obscene, I shall draw a veil : it may, however, 
easily be conceived, that the sight of so many fe- 
males, with no covering but a transparent water, 
must necessarily add to the effects produced by the 
natural heat of the climate. 

In this point of view the manners of the Arabs 
may be said perhaps to be somewhat licentious ; but 
the legislator, subject probably to the same wants 
himself, justly conceiving the impossibility of re- 
pressing desires so violent, and the danger of attempt- 
ing it by a precept, has imposed no restriction. Ac- 
cordingly, the voluptuous Arab may freely abandon 
himself to the empire of sensual pleasure io the pri- 
vacy of his seraglio, without being judged depraved 
in his manners ; for in doing so, he violates no law, 
and deviates from no duty. 

The women in Arabia are never exposed to view, 
even when they travel, though carriages are not in 
use there. To screen them from public observation, 
a large packsaddle is placed upon the back of a cam- 
el, having four upright post*, with cloth, fastened to 
it, and a roof in the manner of a canopy. The wom- 
an who travels is shut up in this kind of cage, and 



280 



TOTAGE IN THE 



performs the intended journey without enjoying a 
single view of tEe country through which she is pass- 
ing. To lift up a corner of the covering which 
conceals her, would often endanger her life : this 
depends however upon the character of the husband 
or master. 

In consequence of this seclusion of the women, 
debauchery is unknown even in those towns where 
the manners have been most relaxed by luxury. 
There are no women of pleasure at Mocha, which 
is often, by the European sailors deemed a great 
hardship. One female only, who sold baskets, was 
thought not to be very cruel to her suitors ; but the 
laws of the country are terrible against the man who 
should be caught in so flagitious an act : if the gov- 
ernment were to come to the knowledge of it, the 
offender must take the turban, or he would be put 
to death. In such moments of dalliance if the wom- 
an were desirous of betraying her lover, she has on- 
ly to call out, and, if observed by a single witness, 
the European would be seized, and could save his 
life only by embracing Mahometanism. In addi- 
tion to this perfidy, were she to swear, that, to ob- 
tain his purpose, be had cried Alia, the crime would 
be still heavier, and a refusal to take the turban 
would conduct him without further examination to 
the punishment of impaling. 

These Jaws are so well known, that the Europe- 
ans are on their guard ; and the Arabs on their part 
having no need of such women, the purity of their 
manners is preserved. From its still possessing a 
religion and manners, this nation may be regarded 
as in its infancy. By religion I do not mean a 
form of worship,* which in reality every nation ob- 
serves, but which is very different from religion. 
By having a religion, whatever may be its nature, 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



231 



I mean the firm conviction of the mind as to the 
truth of its doctrines, the strict observance of its 
precepts, the persuasion that it is of a divine origin, 
that it cannot err, and the being ready, if necessary, 
to die for its sake. In this sense we certainly have 
no longer a religion in Europe. A form of worship, 
on the contrary, is merely the professed observance 
of certain exterior practices, which are often dis- 
pensed with on the most frivolous pretences, or dis- 
charged with a carelessness, which is made subser- 
vient to luxury and fashion. We have long had 
nothing but forms of worship in the part of the world 
we inhabit. 

Arabia must be considered as more distant than 
any other country from a revolution, because while 
she preserves her religion and manners, she stands 
in no need of a general reformation. The greatest 
misfortune a country can sustain is to lose these ; 
and in the history of the world we shall find, that, 
after religion and manners have been annihilated, a 
nation could never be regenerated, without a period 
of barbarism, throwing every thing into a chaos out 
of which more enlightened times would gradually 
arise. The arts and sciences are then re-produced, 
and the people raised to the height of civilization, 
when they again degrade themselves. The scien- 
ces, which were first cultivated in India, afterwards 
escaped to Egypt, and thence to Greece, whence 
they passed into Italy, which has lost them in her 
turn, while France has obtained the prize : they 
now seem to be taking their course towards the 
north, which scarcely possessed the slightest degree 
of civilization when the south was most flourishing. 
They will thus return perhaps again to their prim- 
itive country. History shows us, that the succession 
of barbarism to more enlightened times, in the coua- 
Z 2 



282 



VOYAGE IN THE 



tries which we have just named, only compelled the 
arts and sciences to make the tour of the globe ; 
and in inquiring into the causes of their decline, 
we are obliged to admit, that the revolutions which 
overturn states are brought about solely by the ex- 
tinction of religion and morals, 

In the enjoyment of a happier destiny, Arabia, 
instead of apprehensions of revolution, sees the pe- 
riod approaching when she will occupy in her turn 
the foremost place among the nations of the earth, 
Her attachment to her religion subsists in all its 
force ; her morals are uncontaminated ; she knows 
neither debauchery, gaming, luxury, nor avarice, 
and is perhaps the only country in existence where 
virtue is practised for its own sake. 

The strictness of manners of the Arabs must nec- 
essarily influence the national character: accordingly 
no people are more frank, open and sincere : even 
the wandering tribes are never known to break 
their word. The Arab gives no note nor written 
obligation ; neither bond nor security is necessary to 
bind him to the performance of what he has prom- 
ised. Two merchants conclude a bargain without 
speaking a ward ; the one touches the hand of the 
other, and a third spreads a carpet over them ; the 
touching of hands determines the price that is 
agreed upon, and nothing can break an engagement 
enterediofo in this manner. If several deal togeth- 
er they sit down in a circle ; the seller sets his 
price by squeezing the hand of his neighbor on his 
right side a certain number of times ; and such as 
intend to offer a greater or less price for the goods, 
augment or diminish the number of the&e tokens 
accordingly. The person on the left of the seller 
signifies the price which has thus come round to 
him ; he who first gave it makes himself known, 



INDIAN OCEAN* 



2B3 



the buyer and seller give each other the hand which 
a thiid party separates with a slight blow, and the 
bargain is so firmly concluded, that it cannot be 
broken, I have witnessed transactions of this na- 
ture. It is an established rule, that a vessel shall not 
dispose of any of her goods without giving notice 
to the body of merchants, who are entitled to the 
preference : the owner is obliged to resign at least a 
part of his cargo, if he does not sell it all to then3 a 
before he disposes of it partially. On such occa- 
sions they assemble together and treat in silence, 
the hand under the carpet : the bargain is conclu- 
ded without any dispute, any ill-will, and without 
even a word being spoken, and the engagement is 
irrevocable. 

Such good faith and honesty ought to confound 
our Europeans, who deem themselves superior to all 
other nations, yet can settle no business, however 
trivial without guarding against the possibility of 
mutual fraud, by a multitude of forms, dictated by 
mistrust, and which are often insufficient to protect 
the creditor from the dishonest practises of the 
debtor. 

The Arab is passionate and vindictive. Nothing 
can stifle his desire of revenge : he will readily sac- 
rifice himself, if he can involve his enemy in his 
destruction ; but this thirst for vengeance never 
leads him to employ means that are treacherous. 
He is brave and does not conceal his designs. The 
violence of his passions renders bim peculiarly sus- 
ceptible of enthusiasm ; and the Arabs have given 
proofs of what they will do for their religion. In 
friendship they are firm, generous, and capable of 
the most perfect devotion. Hospitality' is one of 
their most inviolable cfuties ; whatever may be the 
crime of him who begs an asylum, he is sacred to 



284 



VOYAGE Iff THE 



bis host, who protects him as long as he is undes? 
his roof, and, though it were his bitterest enemy, 
would defer his revenge till he had quitted his 
house. 

The Arabs are proud, conceited, and seldom of a 
prepossessing deportment : they have besides a most 
sovereign contempt for all other nations. The con- 
verts to Mahometanism are never treated by them 
with any distinguished respect, of whatever utility 
they may be to them. They not merely despise 
foreigners, they perfectly detest them ; and the com- 
mon people frequently load them with abuse and 
other ill usage : but here, as every where else the 
better Bort are distinguished by a decency and dig- 
nity of behavior. The higher ranks are in general 
extremely grave. The ruling passion of the whole 
nation is jealousy. Every man is capable of sacrific- 
ing his wife on the slightest suspicion : his fury 
would not stop there ; he would not be deterred 
by any difficulty or distance, but would follow his 
rival to the end of the world to stab him. This dis- 
position renders them extremely vigilant in whatev- 
er relates to their seraglios, from which every person 
is indiscriminately excluded. Even their own chil- 
dren, after they attain the age of puberty, are not 
admitted. 

The iman of Yemen resides at Sana, a town a- 
bout forty leagues north- north-east of Mocha. His 
court is far from being so brilliant as it might be, 
if he would encourage the Sayds about his person ; 
but whether he fears them, or dislikes their pres- 
ence, he keeps them at a distance, and is surround* 
ed only by blacks, who are in entire submission to 
his will. There are very few Arabs of distinguish- 
ed family at Sana, and the town itself is but little 
superior to Mocha. Its fortifications, like those of 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



285 



the other towns, consists merely of brick walls, 
flanked by huge towers without a ditch : there is 
not indeed a single inlrenchment in the whole king- 
dom. 

The throne of Yemen, has been frequently stain- 
ed with blood, and from these occasion?* a sort of con- 
stitution arose, by which the power of the iman was in 
some degree abridged ; but, though not considered as 
sovereignly despotic, he becomes so by the manner 
in which he contrives to have his council composed, 
without whose advice he can undertake nothing. He 
thus eludes the restrictions which the constitution has 
imposed upon his personal authority, and is in real- 
ity absolute over the lives of his subjects. The pre- 
sent reigning monarch has not sullied the period of 
his reign by any atrocious executions, and is not 
charged with having put a single individual to death 
in an arbitrary way. He readily admits Europeans 
to visit him, but they never do it without carrying 
presents. When a European arrives at his court, 
the iman defrays the expenses of his coming, his 
stay and his return. Among the presents intended 
for the sovereign, care must be taken that there is 
no article of sculpture or embroidery representing 
the figures of men or animals : every kind of image 
is so strictly prohibited by law, that nothing of this 
nature would be accepted. The presents may con- 
sist of pieces of green or red velvet, lawn embroid- 
ered with gold, jewels, a poignard mounted with 
precious stones, clocks, waiches, and arms. In re- 
turn, he generally gives the choice of a horse from 
his stables. Considering the extent of his domin- 
ions, he keeps his army at a strong peace establish- 
ment. It may amount to two thousand cavalry, 
composed of the flower of the nation, arid six or sev- 
en thousand indifferent infantry, which I have ^1- 



286 



VOYAGE IN THE 



ready described. In war he can augment his forces, 
cavalry and infantry, to twenty thousand and up- 
wards. There is besides a corps of about six hun- 
dred artillery of different nations, to manage at seast 
as many pieces of cannon of all sizes, of which not 
more than twenty are mounted, and these are upon 
naval carriages, in bad condition, and are drawn 
by men. The rest being dismounted are of no use* 
I am speaking of field- pieces, for those belonging 
to the fortifications are mounted upon two blocks 
of wood, which serve as a carriage. Their infantry 
and artillery are so wretched, that three thousand 
good European frocks, with ten pieces of flying ar- 
tillery, might effect the conquest of Yemen in three 
months. 

Arabia without doubt can boast of having been 
peopled at as remote a period, as any part of the 
globe. The high mountains of granite prove the 
antiquity of the country. At the-first view of it in 
a map it appears to have been an island in the prim- 
itive ages of the world, before the existence of the 
Isthmus of Suez* and when the Persian Gulf join- 
ed the Caspian Sea. Since that time its extent has 
continually increased ; and in the lapse of some cen- 
turies, the Straits of Babelmandel will probably be 
a second point of contact between Africa and Asia. 
There is already but seven fathom water between 
the Isthmus of Mehun or Perim,^ which is the usu- 
al passage of vessels. There is a depth indeed of 
four-and-twenty fathoms in the wider passage, but 
this depth is confined to the middle only and is 
found no where else ; in many parts, the sands and 
the high bottoms prevent large vessels from passing. 
The Red Sea is deeper than the narrow strait, and 

* This island stands at the distance of a short league from 
Cape Babelmandel, and forms thestraits of that name. 



INDIAN OCEAN, 



287 



is almost everv where, between the islands and rocks 
which it contains, thirty or forty fathom. Many 
parts of it are even sai l to be unfathomable • bat 
this must be owing to the imperfection of the lines 
used in sounding ; and, I am persuaded, that here- 
after it will be a Iars;e lake like the Caspian Sea, 
when time shall have shut up the strait. Tiie Red 
Sea has in genera! been very incorrectly sounded : 
in tacking between Mocha and the coast of Africa, 
I have found constantly from seventy to eighty 
fathom. M. de Rosily, commander of the king's 
frigate Medusa, is the only person who would have 
been able to give accurate soundings of these parts 
if the urgency of the service in which he was em- 
ployed had allowed him to confine his attention to 
this object. But he was often obliged to sound 
when sailing before the wind, for the winds and 
tides are so violent in these latitudes, that if he had 
stood across to do so, every time of heaving the 
lead would have cost him as much distance as he 
could have gained in six hours. This method 
obliged him to use a very short line, so that he sel- 
dom let out more than fifty fathom, which were 
not suffcieiit to reach the bottom. This is not the 
case however with bis observations, which are made 
with all the accuracy and justness which his abili- 
ties were capable of, and are therefore perfect ia 
every respect. This excellent officer has lately 
published a chart of the Red Sea from the straits to 
the Isthmus of Suez. His astronomical observa- 
tions were made with a chronometer, regulated on 
the meridian of Mahe ; and from the care he has 
bestowed upon the subject, and his zeal and knowl- 
edge united, the greatest confidence may be placed 
in the correctness of the positions which he lays 
down. This chart is essentially necessary in nayi- 



283 



Voyage in the 



gation : those of former travellers are too defective 
in precision to be depended upon : one was want- 
ed from a manner possessing the skill of M. de Ros- 
ily. Both the public and government owe him on 
this account a just tribute of acknowledgment. 

The sea is visibly retiring from the plain on which 
Mocha is built. AH along the coast of the Red 
Sea, from the entrance of the straits, the space from 
the shore to the foot of the mountains of Arabia is 
daily increasing in extent, and snbo^erging from the 
ocean : it is not yet covered with vegetative earth, 
and (he sea appears to have left it hot yesterday. 
In many places we seem to be on sand just abandon- 
ed, and almost fear the return of the tide. It is 
not thus beyond the straits, on the side of the Aden, 
where the waves bathe the foot of the mountains, 
while the base upon which they stand is still in the 
abyss. At a very short distance the depth cannot 
be fathomed, except near Cape Saint Anthony, from 
which it decreases gradually to the straits. 

In attempting to calculate the ages that might 
elapse before the ocean will have quitted the coast 
of Arabia opposite Aden, the powers of the mind 
would be lost : while as to the Red Sea, its water 
is so shallow, the islands and sand-banks with which 
it abounds are so evidently the tops of hills that 
are slowly appearing, and its retreat is so visible, 
that we cannot refuse to anticipate in imagination a 
period at which this vast gulf will be converted in- 
to a valley. It is even possible, that this change 
may be accelerated by some volcanic explosion. 
The enormous mass which constitutes the moun- 
tains of Arabia rests upon no solid basis. An in- 
ternal conflagi ation has excavated beneath their 
foundations immense caverns, which, passing under 
the bed of the Red Sea, communicate with Africa. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



289 



The little island of Gebelthor still burns and smokes, 
from ihe effects of these volcanic processes. 

Zeila and Mocha, two towns on opposite coasts, 
are built upon correspondent submarine veins of 
this description. The pyrites contained within 
them continually burn, and have set fire to the com- 
bustible substances that have been placed near them. 
When one of these towns experiences a shock, the 
other feels it at the same instant. During my res- 
idence ia Arabia, there were several earthquakes, 
of which some were violent. On one of these oc- 
casions, a little town in the mountains, six leagues 
to the east of Mocha, was completely overthrown. 
The shocks were felt at Mocha ; and though not 
very strong, they were sufficiently so to make me 
apprehend, that the house in which I lived would 
tumble upon my head. I accordingly quitted it in 
baste : the land when I got out was firm, but my 
boat, which was at anchor on the water's edge, was 
still in vibration, and for a moment two or three 
strong waves were raised, though it was a profound 
calm. Fahrenheit's thermometer was at J GO, and the 
barometers at 27. If we may judge of the depth of 
the subterraneous abyss under the foundations of 
Arabia by its effects, we must suppose it to be enor- 
mous ; for enormous must be the conflagration nec- 
essary to produce an explosion capable of moving 
such vast masses. Earthquakes are of frequent oc- 
currence in the mountains, particularly in the 
neighborhood of Aden. The internal fire appears 
to be general, as it has not yet settled at any focus ; 
ft is probable, however, that it will in time make it* 
self a passage by opening a volcano, which will give 
vent to the explosions, and thus put the other parts 
of the country into safety. At present these are all 
in continual danger of being swallowed up in &o^je 



290 



VOYAGE IN THE 



of the subterraneous caverns, the vaults of which, in- 
creasing the fire by confining it, may at last be un- 
able to resist its force. This country indeed has al- 
ways been subject to the effects of an internal con- 
flagration, which appears to have produced in it 
great revolutions. A whole group of islands, an- 
ciently so famous that we know even the names of 
the towns in the largest of them, has totally disap- 
peared. I refer to the islands which bore the name 
of Panchaia. 

Diodorus^ says, that the Island of Panchaia was 
situated to the south of Arabia Felix, that there was 
a temple of Jupiter there, of which he gives a mag- 
nificent description, and four towns, Hiracia, Da- 
!is, Oceanis, and Panara. The existence of the lat- 
ter is so well confirmed, that we know its inhabit- 
ants to have consisted of Indians, Scythians, and 
even Cretans : these towns are no where to be found* 
Even supposing Socotara to have been of them, 
what can have become of the rest ? They cannot 
have been united to the continent by the retreat of 
the sea. There are two reasons that militate against 
this supposition. For, in the first place, were this 
the case there would undoubtedly be some regains 
of that celebrated temple mentioned by Evemerus, 
which covered two acres of ground, and was built 
with free-stone, of a whiteness and polish equal to 
marble ; we should certainly see something of the 
navigable river so near its source ; we should find 
traces of the four towns which Diodorus has men- 
tioned by name. There is indeed on the coast of 
Africa the town of Zeila, at the extremity of the 
gulf so called ; but neither its name nor its situation 
gives any mark of its being one of those belonging 

* Diod Bibliot Hist, lib* 5 et lib. 6 3 preserved by Eusebius. 
Pnepar, Evang, lib. % 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



291 



to the Island of Panchaia. But even supposing it 
to be one of them, the question respecting the oth- 
er is still undetermined ; and these are monuments 
which could not have decayed, without leaving some 
ruins to attest their existence. Evemerus says, that 
the temple of Jupiter was situated on a hill. Sup- 
posing therefore the towns to have been buried in 
the sands of Africa, the situation of the temple and 
the hill would surely preserve them from a similar 
fate. 

The second reason against considering these isl- 
ands as having become a constituent part of the con- 
tinent, is drawn from the principles of hydrostatics. 
The Isthmus of Suez had certainly emerged from 
the ocean before the Island of Panchaia had disap- 
peared, for Evemerus was acquainted with it, and 
this author was contemporary with the second suc- 
cess of Alexander. However shallow might be the 
straight which separates this island from the conti- 
nent, it is evident, that the plains which form the 
bottom of it were of a much lower level than the 
ground which composed the isthmus, since the lat- 
ter was dry when the former was overflowed. Now 
it is known that the isthmus is the lowest land, the 
least elevated above the surface of the sea, of any in 
this part of the globe. From the straits of Babelman- 
del to Cape Gardafuy the coast of Africa is compos- 
ed of sandy downs, which lie extremely high ; the 
coast towards the south is also high enough to 
see from it to the distance of five leagues without 
difficulty ; which is a much greater elevation than 
that of the isthmus, and proves therefore a prior ex- 
istence. If the island of Panchaia had been united 
to the continent, the structure of the country makes 
it evident that such union could only have taken 
place in these latitudes ; which leads me to a reflect 



W2 



VOYAGE IN THE 



lion upon the text. Diodorus says, that this island 
was situated to the south of Arabia Fe!ix. Why 
has he not assigned its place to the north of Africa, 
which would have bordered upon it ? It would seem 
natural that he should name the continent which 
was the least distant Considering this to be the 
sense of the passage, we must suppose, that the isl- 
and was nearer the coast of Arabia than to that of 
Africa. If such be toe position which he meant 
to give it every idea of its haying been united to 
the continent mast vanish, since a mere inspection 
of the coasts will manifest the physical impossibility 
of such an event. We do not find there a single 
plain ; we find nothing indeed but high mountains, 
the feet of which are buried in the waves to an 
unfathomable depth. In what place then could the 
junction have been effected ? - 

The system of the retreat of the sea defies the 
most inveterate scepticism ; but, when treated with 
too much warmth of imagination, it may give birth 
to paradoxes without number. In the labyrinth of 
inquiries into which it may lead us, let us never 
lose the clue of hydrostatics, which alone will keep 
us clear of the errors constantly resulting from a 
spirit of systematizing. When it is proved, that it 
is one of the essential properties of fluids to preserve 
themselves in a state of equilibrium, it necessarily 
follows, that the ocean cannot have retired from 
one part of the globe, at the same time that another 
part which is higher, that is to say, more distant 
from the centre, is overwhelmed by it It is in vain 
then that a philosophy, respectable in other points, 
would persuade us, that, when the first Hanno made 
the tour of Africa, half of this vast continent was 
under water, and especially the cape of Good Hope. 
In vain would it assure us, that at that time no part 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



293 



of America existed but the tops of the mountains : 
such assertions would tend rather to alienate uS 
from the system, than make us partizans to it. It 
must first be proved, that Carthage, Eziongabar, or 
whatever place this Hanno departed from, was high- 
er than the lands which are designed to have been 
at that time covered with water ; it must be proved, 
that Phoenicia is higher not only than the Table 
Mountain, and the mountains called the Tiger 
Mountains, but also than all the interior parts of 
Africa, which are unexplored, but which appear, 
as far as a judgment can be formed of them at a 
distance, to be very lofty ; it must be ascertained, 
that the plains of America, from the foot of the 
Andes and the Cordeliers to the shore of the sea, 
are of a lower level than that of Carthage, which 
this Hanno is said to have visited. Unless these 
proofs can be acquired, we are reading in the book 
ef Nature without knowing the alphabet. In vain 
have I searched for testimonies in all the voyages 
that have been made in Africa, and followed, step 
by step, the authors who speak of it ; I always find 
the Isthmus of Suez in my way ; and am obliged 
to infer from it, that while this isthmus has existed, 
all the countries which are of a higher elevation 
must have existed also. 

As a general rule, let us never compute the epochs 
of the first appearances of lands, but by their rela- 
tive height above the surface of the sea ; and when 
we find traces of the ocean in any part of the globe, 
and would know whether the period at which these 
countries first emerged from the water be within 
the reach of our chronology, let us refer to those 
countries to the history of which it extends, and their 
comparative elevation will determine the priority of 
their apoearance ; with the exception however of 

A i o 

-TS. A 4* 



294 



VOYAGE IN THE 



such lands as have been produced by volcanic .ex*- 
plosions* 

I cannot suppose, therefore, that the Panchaia 
Islands have been united to the coast of Asia, since 
the structure of the country does not admit of such 
a conjecture : nor that they have been joined to Af- 
rica, because there is no vestige of them whatever, 
and because every part of this coast is higher than 
those places which were contemporary with therh. 

My opinion is, that this archipelago has disap- 
peared in consequence of some volcanic revolution* 
The innumerable rocks by which Zeila is encom- 
passed, and which are a great obstruction to naviga- 
tion, are evidently the effects of some violent com- 
motion : even Zeila itself does not stand perfectly 
firm on its foundation, but often totters from the 
action of the fire that is under it. Thus the face of 
the country, the frequent earthquakes evincing the 
constant existence of an internal conflagration, the 
crater of Gebelthor still smoking, all tend to con- 
firm me in the opinion, that these islands have been 
sunk in the abyss made by the fire beneath their 
foundations, and that they carried with them into the 
whirlpool part of the surrounding country, particu- 
larly the spot between Socotara and the continent, 
which is now under water. This space abounds 
with small islands, which are visibly the tops of em- 
inences, preserved by their elevation from being in- 
undated. Socotara or Zocatara, at the period 
when Evemerus and the Phoenicians navigated in 
these climates, I suppose to have been the mo*.t dis- 
tinguished promontory of this part of the African 
coast If it had been at that time detached from 
the continent, it would have been too considerable 
an island not to be noticed ; its extent, its height, 
its mountains of granite contrasted with the downs 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



295 



of sand which answer to it in Africa, its pleasing 
and verdant aspect, its fertility compared with the 
burning sands from which it Is separated only by a 
narrow strait, would have obtained it a place in the 
narratives of the earliest travellers* 

From the arguments I have stated, it may be in- 
ferred, that there exists under the w hole of this coun- 
try an immense volcanic cavity, the fire of which 
has continued for a number of centuries, and which, 
if it does not make for itself an opening by which 
to vent its efforts, will one day, and that perhaps at 
no very distant period, produce in this part of the 
world some extraordinary event, by which the bold- 
ness of our conjectures, concerning the vestiges of 
such revolutions as have preceded us, will be jus- 
tified. 



To return to ray voyage : The commercial spec- 
ulation which brought me to Mocha turned out unfor- 
tunately : corn had a bad sale there, and the produce 
of my cargo was not sufficient to enable me to re load 
my vessel with coffee. I contented myself therefore 
with buying two hundred bales of that article at Beth- 
elfakih ; I filled the bold of mv vessel with salt, and 
purchased twenty of [he larger sort of asses and two 
camels, which with the necessary stock of water and 
provisions for them, made up the freight. As I hud 
not casks enough for the water, I wan obliged to 
supply their place by wells fpuitsj constructed by 
the awkward workmen of the country : but these 
leaked in the voyage ; and if my cattle had not been 
of the most temperate description, as those of this 
climate generally are, they would half of them have 
perished with thirst. While speaking of my quad- 



296 



VOFAGE IN THE 



rupeds, I shall mention one circumstance that struck 
me as curious, which is* that the asses, from the 
moment they were put go board, continued perfect> 
ly mute through the whole voyage* 

Having made all the preparations for my depar- 
ture in good time, and the first winds of the north- 
erly monsoon beginning to be felt during the two 
or three last days of May, I began my voyage on 
the first of June. This precipitation however I had 
reason to repent ; and I owe it as a caution to those 
who may come after me to say, that it is prudent 
not to sail till the monsoon is steadily set in, as they 
will otherwise be exposed to the same difficulties to 
which I was subjected. 

I had weighed about six in the evening, and when 
I arrived at the straits it was two in the morning. 
As the darkness prevented me from clearing them, 
I cast anchor at a short distance, and remained till 
daylight, when the wind changed and kept me there 
three days. On the fourth I sailed again, and was 
obliged, in the course of four-and-twenty hours, to 
repass the straits and return into the Red Sea, where 
I lay at anchor two days longer, at the end of which 
I set sail once more, but did not get much forward- 
er than before. I was five*and-twenty days strug- 
gling against the currents and keeping myself from 
the coast of Africa, which I had thus, against my 
inclination, the leisure of examining as far as Cape 
Gardafuy. When we were carried too close to the 
land by the calms and the currents, if, in the cool- 
ness of the night, a slight breeze from the land reach- 
ed the vessel, the heat which it brought with it was 
so great, that we were obliged to shut our eyes, 
though it had seemingly time to cool by passing 
through a space of three leagues over the surface 
of the sea. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



29? 



On the twenty-sixth day I was attacked by one of 
the most violent tempests I ever experienced ; the 
second day of its continuance brought me in sight 
of Socotara, and if I had had to contend with the 
wind and sea together we must certainly have per- 
ished ; but, fortunately, the wind blew from the 
south-west, and carried tisin the right course, which 
diminished the force of the tempest. My vessel 
too at this time felt the effects of the damage it had 
received in the Ganges ; for in no other way can I 
account for the accident that happened to her. 

One of the joints of the keel opened, and sudden- 
ly occasioned a leak, which, during the violence of 
the storm, was so great, that, though four pumps 
were constantly at work, and the rest of the crew 
employed in emptying the water with buckets 
through the scuttles, it gained so considerably upon 
us, that when the wind began to abate we had no 
less than five feet and a half of water in the hold : 
a condition the more dreadful, as it showed us the 
gradual approach of a fate which all our efforts could 
not avoid. I had prepared my pistols, intending by 
means of them to rid myself of the misery of so cru- 
el a death, and an ineffectual struggling with the 
waves. To increase the horror of our situation, two 
of the pumps broke at once, and the furniture of the 
third faiied us. I had nothing with which to sup- 
ply its place, and if the accident had happened 
twenty-four hours sooner, it is probable that noth- 
ing could have saved us. By good !uck the storm 
abated and the vessel being less strained the leak 
made but two-md-thirty inches in an hour. It was 
still such, however, as not to be kept under by less 
than two pumps ; and it was therefore indispensa- 
bly necessary to repair one of them. I shall enter 



293 



VOYAGE IN THE 



here into a few details for the instruction of such 
seamen into whose hands my book may fall. 

The pumps work by two valves^ one fixed upon 
a moveable body called the upper box, containing a 
hole which this valve hermetically closes, and the 
other fixed to an immoveable body called the lower 
box. The upper box, in descending, presses the 
column- of water upon the valve of the lower box, 
and keeps it shut, while the same pressure raises the 
valve of the upper box, and gives a passage through 
it to the water. In the re-ascent of the upper box, 
when its valve shuts by the weight of the column of 
water above it, that of the lower box opens and af- 
fords a passage to the water below it, which is thus 
drawn up by the suction. It thus appears, that the 
effect of the pump depends on the operation of the 
valves, and that without valves it could not be work- 
ed. These, however, we had lost ; yet I contrived 
notwithstanding to put my p&mps into a condition 
for working. I had to find the means of supplying 
the loss of the valves, and to substitute something 
which would answer their purpose ; that of com- 
pletely stopping the holes of both the boxes, agree- 
ably to the action of the pump. To effect this I 
heated two fourpound shot, and applied them red- 
hot to the mouths of the valves, where I let them 
burn the wood so as to bury themselves half-way in 
it : I then cooled them, and without any other prep- 
aration put them into the pump. Their weight did 
not prevent them from giving way to the water, as 
much as was necessary, both in the ascent and de- 
scent of the upper box, ; and these two motions 
acting successively upon them, brought them back 
to their position in the holes which they had burnt, 
and which of course they exactly filled. By this 
contrivance the pump worked as well as ever. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



299 



After thirteen days of fatigue and trouble, I came 
in sight of the coast of Malabar. My crew now be- 
came refractory, and threatened to run the vessel 
aground, being determined not to expose themselves 
to the danger of a longer voyage. It was with great 
difficulty I prevailed upon them to accompany roe 
as far as Pondicherry, where our labours would end, 
When we reached this place we were all in a mis- 
erable state, exhausted with weakness and fatigue. 
I received all the assistance that could be given me, 
and began to unload my cargo, which had suffered 
by the accidents of the passage. I had lost a cam- 
el and ten asses ; the rest soon recovered their 
strength, and I sent them by another vessel to the 
Isle of France, and had mine repaired in the river 
of Coringui. The entrance of this river was diffi- 
cult for so large a ship, but luckily the bar consisted 
only of soft mud, through which I made a passage 
with the help of my capstan, 

At the time of my arrival in this river, the coun- 
try was afflicted with a most cruel famine ; the in- 
habitants died with such dreadful rapidity, that they 
could not be buried. The roads and fields were 
strewed with dead bodies, which had made this 
province the country of jackals and birds of prey : 
this was a disgusting spectacle, and it was out of 
the power of the government to remedy it. 

The conduct of the people during the continu- 
ance of this destructive calamity was marked with 
a resignation and fortitude, that prove how compat- 
ible the contempt of death is with the utmost gen- 
tleness of manners. The granaries of the rich were 
fiill of corn ; the poorer sort knew this, yet suffer- 
ed themselves to perish, without attempting to make 
themselves masters of it. The manner in which 



300 



YOYAGE IN THJD 



they waited for death and submitted to it, appears, 
from its singularity, to be worthy of record. Though 
my pencil shrinks from the delineation, I wiiS nev- 
ertheless attempt it, that a faithful portrait may be 
given of the character of the natives of India. 

As soon as an individual of either sex found, that 
all his efforts to prolong existence were in vain, he 
caused himself to be carried to the door of some 
rich man, in whose sight. he wished to expire, as if 
to reproach him for not having extended to him 
from his hoard the relief, which would have saved 
him from death. There, lying upon the ground, 
and receiving from bis friends a pot of water, suf- 
ficient to maintain him for two or three days, with 
his head wrapped in his apron, he waited patiently 
for the fatal moment, defending himself to his last 
breath against the animals that attempted to devour _ 
him alive, while no exhortations, on the part of those 
who offered to succour him, could induce him t© 
accept the means, which, in his own opinion, were 
useless, for preserving a life he had resolved to sac- 
rifice. Those whom some remains of strength de- 
ceived with the hopes of a longer existence, and who 
were surprised by death, fell indiscriminately where- 
ever it seized upon them. I was seldom without 
the distressing spectacle, every morning, of three or 
four bodies of persons who had died in this manner 
during the night. The fortitude of the Indians en- 
dured to the last moment : they saw death approach- 
ing, waited for it, and submitted to the stroke with- 
out a murmur or complaint, without having engag- 
ed in any seditious tumults, without having offered 
even the smallest violence to those whose affluence 
protected them from a similar fate, and died, call- 
ing upon Brama, their last hours unimbittered by a 
single sentiment of malevolence. 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



301 



But enough of these gloomy images. 

The road of Coringui is the wintering place to 
which vessels retire that are obliged to pass the bad 
season on the coast of India. The worst that can 
happen to them in this situation is to be aground up- 
on the mud banks, which is not attended with the 
slightest risk. Shipwrecks nevertheless are frequent 
in these parts, which arises from the sandy point 
that defends the bay to the south, projecting consid- 
erably into the sea, with dangerous ridges and 
shelves. 

During my stay in this place, & vessel struck sud- 
denly in the night against this point and was lost. 
I sent out my boats and crew to her assistance, and 
many articles were saved, among which was some 
rice in a sack. The water *had affected it, and the 
grains had swelled and were burst; yet, so great 
was the scarcity in this place, that it sold at the rate 
of six rupees the sack, which is fifteen Hvres for a 
hundred and fifty pounds weight. Mr. Dineur, 
the supercargo, testified his gratitude by making me 
an offer of an elegant boat, which I refused to ac- 
cept as a present, but which I agreed to purchase of 
him. He wished me to take it at a price much below 
its value, but what I had done required no recom- 
pense : in a case of this nature, all seamen are broth- 
ers, and ought to assist each other to the utmost of 
their power. 

As I did not find at Coringui the necessary ma- 
terials for repairing my ship's bottom, I could not 
have her properly careened, and was obliged to run 
her ashore, and have her put upon the stocks. It 
is in this business that the industry of the Indians 
shines forth in all its splendor : by their patience 
and perseverance, they effect, with the assistance of 
no tackling, no pulleys, no ropes, no capstan, no 



302 



VOYAGE IN THE 



mechanical force of any sort, what we are unable to 
perform without the aid of many, the most pow- 
erful, means combined. Labor costs them so lit- 
tle, that the expense of it is scarcely an object of 
attention. The pay of a workman is a dabou per 
day ; so that for a rupee of the value of about fifty 
sous, or two shillings sterling, the labor of eighty 
men may be obtained. What is more extraordina- 
ry, this trivial pay is sufficient, in an ordinary year, 
for the maintenance of an Indian and his whole 
family. 

Their method of raising a vessel is simple and in- 
genious. The details into which I shall enter upon 
this subject will be found perhaps insipid to many 
of my readers ; but those who have a pleasure in 
contemplating the progress of the human mind will 
not be offended, though I should be a little tedious 
in dwelling upon particulars, which will furnish a 
comparison between nations yet young in existence, 
and those whom luxury and the arts have advanced 
to the height of civilization. 

They begin by fixing upon the spot in the mead- 
ow where the vessel is to be placed, and this being 
done they dig a bason there, which they call goudi. 
When the bason is deep enough to contain the vessel s 
they admit water into it from the river, by piercing 
a little dike which had been made at its entrance. 
As this country, however, is not yet hardened and 
dry, but has water a little below its surface, as soon 
as they have dug to the depth of two or three feet, 
their trench is overflowed : in this situation, with- 
out a pump or any machine whatever, with nothing 
but a bucket, they clear it as completely as could 
be done with all the assistance of hydraulics. This 
method of baling out water is not confined to mari- 
time operations ; they use it likewise in watering 



INDIAN OCEAN. 



303 



their fields, when they have not an opportunity of 
establishing a picote.* 

The bucket they employ for this purpose is flat, 
and has four handles, to which are fastened as many- 
ropes, the ends of which are held by four men, 
two on each side. Though the bucket is flat, it has 
a sort of hollow on one side, which we shall call 
the back ; the front on the contrary, is in the 
form of a shovel, or rather, to speak more intelligi- 
bly, the impliment itself is a sort of hoiiow shovel. 
Two cords are fastened to the handle at the cor- 
ners of the front, and two others to the back. The 
greater is the depth of the bason, the further do the 
men who work the bucket stand from the point to 
which the water is to be thrown. Their distance 
from this object ought to be equal to the depth, 
since the bucket in its motion describes the arc of a 
circle, of which the ropes are the radii, and the men 
the centre. 

To understand the operation of this implement, 
which is more worthy of attention as it supplies the 
place of a pump, let us figure to ourselves the situ- 
ation of the right hand man. In his left hand be 
holds the rope fastened to the front of the bucket, 
and in his right that of the back (the man on the 
left holds them in the contrary hands.) He begins 
by swinging the bucket : after which, lengthening 
out the ropes he lets it down so as to touch the 
water and then with a slight effort of his left hand 
forces the front of the bucket below the surface, 
and thus fills it. In completing the arc of a circle, 
it reaches the height to which it is to be raised, 
when by the rope in his right hand he depresses the 
back of it, and the water runs out. The bucket de- 

* An instrument for drawing water resembling that of our 
gardeners and brickmakers.— T. 



304 TOYAGE tit THB 

scends in the same direction, fills again in return* 
ing, and empties itself in the same manner. It is 
*asy to conceive, that the motion is quick, and, if 
the bucket be of any size, that the exercise must be 
very fatiguing. I estimated this contrivance to be 
equal in its effect to a pump four inches in diame- 
ter in the tube, and worked by eight men. 

With the help of this bucket, they keep their ba» 
son dry, till they have dug a sufficient depth to float 
a ship when filled by the water at high tide. They 
then open the bason when the tide is down, by rais- 
ing; the little dike which defends the entrance of it. 
The vessel then enters it without difficulty, at the 
Teturn of the tide, and as soon as it is in, they stop 
up the mouth of the bason, by replacing the dike 
which they had removed : and thus their vessel is 
afloat, inclosed in a bason dug in the middle of a 
field. 

An European engineer would think that as yet 
little was done, and would consider the rest of the 
operation as the greatest difficulty. The Indians, 
on the contrary, have performed the most laborious 
part of their work, and make no account of the re- 
mainder. Their bucket has still to make a great 
figure, and by means of two of these instruments 
they fill the bason to the brim in a day at most. 
The vessel rises with the water, and when the gondi 
is full, they bring earth and raise a bank round the 
vessel, still filling with their buckets as they go on. 
They might thus lift their vessel to the clouds, if 
they were to employ a sufficient quantity of earth ; 
but they seldom raise it more than ten feet. When 
it has attained the necessary height, they fill the 
goudi with earth, by which the water rises above 
the banks and runs off, and the vessel is entrenched 
in a soft earth* which yields to its shape. When 



ItfblAff OCEAN, 



305 



the water is cleared, they make the holes at the bot- 
tom of the bank, to drain the mouid on which the 
vessel rests thoroughly dry ; and in this state they 
leave it for six weeks or two months, till they judge 
the earth to have acquired a sufficient solidily. 
They then dig round the vessel, placing the requisite 
supports and stocks ; and finish the whole by taking 
away all the earth they have brought, which leaves 
the vessel raised upon the ground, and in actuation 
to allow all the necessary repairs to be done her 
bottom. This method of proceeding is the more 
ingenious, as it neither requires extraordinary ex- 
ertion of strength, nor is exposed to accidents : the 
only inconvenience attending it is its slowness^ 
which however is but a slight disadvantage in a 
country where the vessels are prevented by the mon- 
soons from making more than one voyage in a year. 

Such was the mode to which I was obliged to 
resort in repairing my ship, and which detained me 
till January. I then i etui red to Pondicberry s 
whence I sailed to the Isle of France and thus fin- 
ished my voyage* 



B b 2 



INDEX, 



Author saUs from the Isle of France, page 3 

Arrives on the Sechelles' bank, 4 

Loses one of his men, 14 

Arrives at Pondicherry, 18 

Reception there 58 

Sails for Bengal, touches at Madras, 114 

Lands near Fulta, 134 

Alarm by an enormous serpent, 136 

Arrives at Calcutta, 136 

Experiences a dangerous storm, 138 

Dishonesty of the port-officers, 141 

Singular adventure to rescue a woman, 186 

Sails from Calcutta, 203 

Anchors in t* road of Cochin, 208 

Impositions practised there, 209 

Sails from thence and arrives at Mocha, 214 

Reception by the Governor, 224 
One of his crew embraces the Mahometan 

Religion, 250 

It? melancholy consequences, 252 

Spirited conduct to recover his men, 253 

Contemplates a dangerous enterprise, 257 

Safe from Mocha, 295 

His ship damaged by a violent tempest 297 
Ingenious contrivance to repair his pumps, 298 

Arrives on the coast of Malabar, 299 
Returns to Pondicherry, and from thence to 

the Isle of Fiance, 305 

Arcommodatiofss for travellers in India, 74 

Agriculture in India, 94 



308 INDEX, 

Agriculture in Arabia, page 269 

Assassination of Capt. Nun, 217 

Arabs, their manner of preparing coffee, 224 

Religious exercise, 230 

Military exercise, ib. 

Luxurious mode of living, 239, 2?0 

D ^ss, and marks of distinction, 241 

Manner of dividing time, 243 

Io*perfect navigation, 268 

Arabian manners and customs? 277 
Military force, 230, 235, 286 

Abyssinian Female slaves, 235 

Productions of Bengal, 175 

Dutch settlements there, 201 
Bramins, their hospitalityjmd religious customs, 74 

Bazar, or market-place a!t Mocha, 237 

Banians, their character, 245 

Bezoar-stcne, its valuable properties, 85 

Books of the Indians, 63 

— — of the Bramins, 189 

Chelingue, an Indian boat described, 49 

Character of the Indians, 98 

— of the Arabs, 284 

Cultivation of the sugar cane in Bengal, 176 

— — of cotton, and cocoa-nuts, 96 

— of coffee in Yemen, 273 

Catholic Religion at Madras, 118 

General description of Calcutta, 146 — 153 

Its trade, 163 

Camel, its singularities, 265 

Devotions of the Indians, 77 

of the Arabs, 230 

Effect? of opium, note, 39 

Effects of the French Revolution in India, 195—201 
English East India Company, their policy and 

government, 123 



INDEX. 309 

- — ■ ■■ privileges, page 158 

their extensive power, 170 

English adventurers in India, 164 

European Establishments in Bengal, 193 

Factories at Mocha, 228 

Female Dancers in India, 79 

Faquirs, their horrible fanaticism, 81 
Fall of the French power in India, 104—108 

Fortifications at Madras, 114 

■ at Pondieherry, 28 

French, their bad system in India, 23 

Famine in India, 301 

German Missionary at Mocha 5 256 

Gum-arabic, brought from Abyssinia, 276 

Geography of India, 325 

Horses at Calcutta, 156 

Hyder Aly, 21 

Handkerchiefs, manufactured at Madras, 121 

Indians their general character, 98 

Their skill in spinning, 121 

Their manner of receiving a stranger, 58 

Their method of writing, 63 

Their dress, 78 

Their coins, 31 

Their manner of drawing water, 97 

Their superstitions, 179 
T!ieir literature, 159, 189 

Their method of careening a ship, 302 

Indian priests, 82 

artisans, 90, 93 

architecture^ 92 

- — — agriculture, 98 

Carriages, 117 

Naval architecture, 125 

Jews settled at Mocha, 243 

Karikal, its productions, 2$ 



310 INDEX. 

Land Tortoise in India, page IS 
Lascar sailors, 203 
General description of Madras, 114 
Author's arrival there, ib. 
Different races of Mankind, 64 
Madam Dourga, the divinity of the River Gan- 
ges, 179 
Description of Mocha, 220, 236, 261 
•Author's arrival there, 214 
'European factories there, 228 
Its population, 237 
Luxury of the Inhabitants, 239 
Mocha raenanced by the French Company, 259 
Its excellent fruit-market, 270 
Navigation of the Arabs, 273 
Oil of Roses, excellent at Mocha, 163 
Paria, an Indian vessel described, 125 
General description of Pondicherry, 26, 57, 101 
Author's arrival there, 18 
Military force, ib. 
Pilaw, an Arabian dish described, 272 
Portrait of Louis XVL at Mocha, 247 
Quadrupeds of India, 173 
Quarrel of the author with the Arabian govern- 
ment, 251 
Ravens numerous at Calcutta, 153 
Reception of the author at Pondicherry, 57 
_____ at Mocha, 224 
Religious ceremonies of the Indians, 181 

~~ — of the Arabians 230, 247 

Royal Tiger at Cadjery, 131 

Extraordinary instance of Refraction at Sea, 2q4 

General description of Sechelies, 5 

Author's inquiries respecting their formation, 5 
Spices, conveyed to the Sechelles 5 Islands, 

and naturalised there, _ 9 



INDEX. 311 

. destroyed on a false alarm, 11 

State of the arts in India, $9 

in Arabia, 268 

Smuggling trade to the Spice Islands, 125 

Trincomale, or the island of Ceylon, 33 

Its reputation above its value, 34 

Trade carried on there, 38 

Theory of the formation of islands, 5 

of human colour, 64 

of the retreat of the sea, 298 

Vessels of the Indians, 49, 125 

Widows of the Bramins burn themselves, 185 
Seclusion of women in Arabia, 239, 179 

Yemen, its productions 271 

Coffee the chief object of cultivation, 273 ^ 



LBJa/21 



